What wasn't now is
by CptCluur
Summary: Alison DiLaurentis is about to make a big mistake in her life. But what led her there and what will happen afterwards? Emily Fields has gone off the radar but how long can she stay away? Emison. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They belong to the books and tv series Pretty Little Liars.
1. Chapter 1

Alison stood in the small room completely alone, she was surrounded by religious texts and paintings and they only made her feel even guiltier when it came to what she was about to do. She was stood in the centre of the room, knowing if she sat down on the wooden chair that was currently tucked under the matching wooden desk behind her then she would find it very difficult to get up again. She had told her friends she needed a few moments to herself before the ceremony could begin and they had graciously allowed her this request, making their way around to the front of the building where they would soon make their grand entrance all together.

As she took in a deep breath and avoided running her hands through her hair in frustration, not wanting to ruin her look for fear of never hearing the last of it from Hanna who had spent half the morning on it, Alison couldn't help but let her thoughts wander. _This isn't right,_ those words kept repeating over and over in her head. She swore under her breath several times whilst she clenched her eyes and fists shut tightly in an attempt to clear her mind but nothing seemed to be helping. Her nails dug into the palms of her hands but that was the least of her worries, at a time when she should have felt happy and wanted instead all she felt was cold and alone.

An average sized wood framed mirror hung off the same wall that the desk was adjacent to and as Alison slowly turned around she caught her reflection in it, her long blonde hair fell past her shoulders and her make up accentuated her natural beauty. The long stunningly white dress somehow made her look a little less pale than normal and she moved slowly from side to side watching it sway with her movements. It was the dress of her dreams and it had cost her a pretty penny but in those dreams this day was completely different in every aspect.

Alison didn't have long to go, it would only be roughly an hour until she would be saying her vows and making a lifetime commitment to one person. The one person who should have been the only thing on her mind right then but unfortunately for them they weren't. She had already made them wait for long enough but she couldn't quite seem to be able to get her legs to move her out of the room. It was if she was glued to the floor.

She couldn't stop the tears that started to form in her eyes, her reflection staring back at her and somehow it looked disappointed in her, she was marrying the wrong person and she knew it. But what could she do? Continue waiting? It had already been five years since she had last seen the one true love of her life. Five years since she had watched the all too familiar car pull out of her drive and five years since she had realised two minutes too late that she was in love with the girl driving away from her, she always had been.

She had pushed that beautiful girl away at every possibility. Led her on and then broke her down as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Yet her love had stuck by her, even after all the cruel things Alison had subjected her to. Pretending their kisses were just for practice when the reality was she enjoyed them just as much as the brunette had. She had enjoyed every moment they had spent together and yet she had come to realise the truth of the situation too late.

Not wanting to be selfish for the first time in her life she had allowed her mermaid the freedom she thought the brunette wanted and deserved. The chance to start her life away from Rosewood and all its horrors they had endured throughout their school life. Being terrorised for years by A had left the entire group of friends scarred by their experiences and Alison truly believed that she was doing the right thing by letting her girl move on with her life. What she didn't know was that she couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Her mermaid had been given a scholarship for UCLA and she had chosen to take up a course in sports medicine. She was unable to swim professionally due to the injury to her shoulder she sustained from a run in with A but she still wanted to be involved with sports to some aspect, helping others was second nature to the brunette.

Alison had attended summer school and worked her ass off so that she could graduate high school and attend college at the same time as her friends. Surprisingly though she had decided to stay in Rosewood, having been the one who had always dreamed of leaving the town at her first given opportunity she now felt compelled to stay in the place she finally called home. She attended Hollis where she got an English degree and now she taught English to the students of Rosewood High.

It felt almost ironic that after ruling the hallways as queen bee and being derogative towards her teachers for so long she now watched the new generations go through the same motions and she was the teacher taking the slack from the students. Although her students knew not to get on the wrong side of her, her queen bee personality still making one or two appearances when needed.

Alison had awoken in a cold sweat and panic from the same dream every night for the past two weeks, she was an outsider looking in on her own marriage and as she stood watching herself say her vows to the man that would soon become her husband a loud bang would interrupt. In that moment all she could focus on was the goddess that had entered the church, the doors swinging open wildly behind her and the tanned woman said the two words that would change her life forever. I object.

Her husband to be knew she was having bad dreams but thought they were about her past, something she never thought she would escape from and yet marrying the wrong person seemed even worse than the evil she had suffered back then. Alison had offered to sleep in the spare room for the past week as an attempt to allow her fiancé to get a full nights rest. The reality was that as the big day drew nearer she felt more ashamed of the lie she was living. It didn't seem fair on the man she had agreed to marry but her reality was that in her mind she would never find anyone better for her, who she hadn't already pushed away and so she was determined to act as if everything was fine.

Alison knew that it was just a dream and she knew that nothing along those lines would happen today. It was unrealistic to believe that after five years of no contact that on her wedding of all days the brunette would make a sudden appearance. She had been surprised to say the least when her mermaid hadn't even made an appearance at her fathers funeral, the man who had been in the army his whole life had died tragically on tour only a year after both girls had started college.

Alison had stood beside the girls mother as a friendly shoulder to lean on, both anger and confusion coursing through her body that the girl couldn't even be there for her mother at a time like that. If she ever saw her again that would be one of the first things she would ask her - _how could she stay away and not say goodbye to the man she had adored?_

What Alison hadn't known was that the tanned beauty had in fact attended her fathers funeral. She had watched the entire service from a slight distance, wearing dark clothing and a hood hiding her face. It was a brave choice of outfit and decision considering the girls tortured past, should she have been caught by anyone especially Alison it would have led to some very awkward questions. Questions that she was sure she couldn't answer, not at that particular moment at least.

She had stood unnoticed, tears streaming from her eyes not just for the father she had lost but also for the love of her life who she would never get to have. She had watched as an American flag was placed on top of the casket before it was lowered into the ground and she felt her knees go weak. Collapsing to the ground she struggled to catch her breath as the start of a panic attack came on, a hand on her shoulder scared her but as she recognised the voice she felt herself calm down.

"I didn't think you would stay away, you should have known not to lie to me"

"Sorry Han, I didn't want to risk her seeing me" the girl explained through sobs as she was brought into a tight hug by one of her best friends.

Hanna had spotted the dark figure lurking by the trees in the distance and had managed to excuse herself without Aria and Spencer, who she had been stood with, taking much notice, they were both too upset to pay her much attention.

Hanna had stood beside the dark figure until they had composed themselves and they had them gone their separate ways. Hanna back to their friends who would start looking for her if she didn't turn up soon and the figure slinking away from the service and completely out of sight now that it had ended.

The girl had told her mother a few days previously that she would be at the funeral but not at the fore front of the service and she had also explained that decision. Her mother had understood and later that evening once everyone had left the cemetery, the two of them had met up besides the newly dug grave and said goodbye to the most important man who had been in their lives together.

It was inevitable that Alison would marry the wrong person. Elliot Rollins was right in so many ways and she had grown to love him, however she wasn't in love with him and up until now Alison hadn't realised how much of a difference that actually made.

Elliot was a doctor at the hospital her sister Charlotte had been sent to after she had been unmasked as A. He had been assigned to the treatment of Charlotte but after several disagreements between the older blonde and him it was deemed best for another doctor to take charge of her care. This had led the way for his overly flirtatious and inquisitive behaviour to become a part of Alison's and his daily routine when she visited Charlotte. Yet it had taken over three years for Alison's and his relationship to go beyond that of doctor and relative of patient but from the moment it had Alison had tried to push all thoughts of that one particular person who had an iron tight grip on her heart out of her mind.

She felt unfaithful when her mind had drifted to her instead of Elliot and she had tried with relatively little success to forget everything about her. From her toned swimmers body to her deep brown eyes that looked at her as if she was the only one in the world. Today however she had only thought of her. Thought of how much she wanted it to be her that she would be saying her vows to, committing to for eternity. The one who would repeat the words 'I do' to her.

One tear slipped down her face and she quickly but carefully wiped it away. Drawing in a few more deep breaths to compose herself before the game was up and somebody realised the truth. The truth that she was in love with her former best friend. The truth that she was marrying the wrong person.

It all could have been so different if Alison hadn't been so stubborn, if she had just admitted how she felt when the brunette was still around. She had spent an entire night in the arms of her mermaid and yet when they had awoken Alison had once again brushed it off as if it was nothing. As if she was nothing. The pain in the brunettes eyes when she realised that once again Alison had seemingly played with her heart had been unbearable and yet Alison had still kept up the pretence. It couldn't have been farther from the truth, Emily Fields had been her everything and Alison had been stupid enough to let her slip away.

Emily had pulled out of Alison's driveway and tried her hardest to not look back however her eyes kept drifting to the rear view mirror where she saw the blondes reflection. She had headed off to college with her heart feeling heavy and knowing she was going to regret walking away from the blonde, she had wanted a reason to stay but Alison unfortunately hadn't given her one. She was reluctant to leave but knew she couldn't keep waiting on something that was never going to happen. Alison had toyed with her heart and emotions for long enough and Emily had convinced herself that the distance she was physically putting between them would help her to get over the blonde.

Alison had stayed in consistent contact with Emily for just under six months, making sure to talk or at least message her everyday. But then the brunette had stopped replying to her messages and stopped answering her calls. She had asked Hanna, Spencer and Aria if they had heard from the brunette but they had also been cut off by the brunette it seemed. It was unnerving knowing that Emily could cut her out of her life so easily but when Alison went over their previous history she didn't blame her for it. She finally realised how Emily must have been feeling, being in love with someone but not being able to be with them or fully act on it.

After three years of silence Alison had reluctantly accepted Elliot's proposal of coffee one afternoon and she had found his company to be something she could get used to. He was charming and clever and the conversations were never dull between them. Emily was still in her mind and always in her heart but the pain of not hearing from her lessened slightly when she was around Elliot.

As Alison got lost in her thoughts once more a cough brought her back to reality. Hanna stood in the doorway of the backroom of the church and she avoided eye contact with Alison as she spoke.

"Are you ready?" The usually bubbly blonde asked with a hint of reluctance in her voice.

Alison turned sharply on her heels and looked straight at Hanna before marching over to her and lifting the other blondes head so that she had no choice but to look her in the eye. Hanna didn't seemed surprised by Alison's actions and drew in a deep breath, knowing exactly what was about to come out of Alisons mouth. She was kicking herself for not refusing to come and get Alison when Aria and Spencer had suggested she be the one to hurry her along. They had wanted to avoid Alison knowing how she could get when someone tried to get her to do something she didn't want to however Hanna's reason for avoidance was completely different, she knew this was the day she would give her best friends secrets up.

"You know where she is don't you" it wasn't a question, it was a statement and Alison spoke in a tone that told Hanna not to bullshit her.

"Yes." Hanna replied honestly.

Alison had asked several times before and with each deceitful answer that Hanna had given her she had got less and less mad at the blonde. She knew Hanna was only lying about hearing from Emily because the brunette herself had asked her to. It was Emily she should be mad at. Mad at because she walked away even if Alison had ultimately pushed her into it. Mad at her because Emily had cut all forms of communication even though Alison had done it first when she had faked her death all those years ago.

"You've known the whole time" Alison stated once again.

"Yes. But you know why I lied to you so let's skip all the bullshit and you can tell me what you're going to do about all this" Hanna said, not one to be subtle or beat around the bush.

"Where is she?"

"I can't tell you. I don't even know if you'll ever see her again. But I do know you're marrying the wrong person and that Emily is still as in love with you as the day she left" Hanna spoke every word with confidence and she kept her eye contact with Alison.

Hanna had been surprised to say the least when she had received the wedding invitation to Alison and Elliot's wedding but soon realised that it had almost been five years since Emily had seemingly disappeared and that it was a lot to ask of Alison to keep waiting for her to come back. But for some reason she still felt disappointed in the blonde, disappointed that she didn't wait forever for the love of her life to return. All three of the girls knew how both Emily and Alison felt about one another and it frustrated them no end knowing that they were unable to see it themselves.

Aria and Spencer had gladly accepted Alison's invitation and were excited when they were asked to be bridesmaids. Hanna had lectured them both about their excitement but she understood that they didn't know that she was still in contact with Emily. Had they been then their reactions may have been different entirely. They didn't know what the brunette had been through in the last five years and they definitely didn't know that Emily was still completely and utterly head over heels in love with Alison.

Hanna kept her steely gaze fixed upon Alison and was surprised when Alison broke their eye contact first. The usually feisty blonde seemed to retreat inside herself for a moment before she built her walls back up quickly and put on another bravado.

"That's a lie. If she even slightly had some sort of feelings for me then she wouldn't have cut contact with me and she definitely wouldn't have left me here." Alison barked at Hanna, her old bitchy self coming out in defence.

"You don't need to take it out on me Alison, I'm just trying to remind you that if your heart isn't in it then you shouldn't marry him. He's not the one you're supposed to be with" Hanna said calmly, she was used to Alison's outbursts and she needed to do everything she could to stop this wedding. For Emily.

"She knows where I live, she could have come here and told me all this herself. I'm guessing you told her about today?!" Alison's voice got louder with every word and if she didn't get herself back under control then the entire church would soon hear their argument.

Alison took several more deep breaths, trying to calm herself down but the longer she had Emily on her mind the angrier she got. She was reminded of the fact that the brunette had walked away, she had been the one to cut all contact. Emily could have been dead for all Alison knew and there would have been nothing the blonde could do about it. The power to change what had happened fell to the talented swimmer and she had made no move to do such a thing.

"I didn't tell her. She does know however, I'm not the only one who she kept in contact with and seeing as one of your guests politely declined your invitation then it shouldn't be too hard to guess who did tell her. Pam has spent the last five years treating you like a daughter, it's not surprising that she is disappointed in you for going through with a marriage you're not fully committed to." Hanna's voice was still eerily calm, usually she would have joined in with Alison's shouting match but instead she just relayed the facts.

"Pam?" Alison questioned quietly.

She felt guilty. So guilty. It was true, the last five years Pam had been so good to her. They had spent almost every Sunday together for lunch after attending the morning sermon in the very church in which she was now stood. Emilys mother had never spoken about Emily to Alison unless Alison had brought her up first, she knew how Alison felt about her daughter and yet she hadn't told her she was still in contact with her. It wasn't very surprising however as the older woman had remained well put together after the brunette had seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth. Emily always had been very family orientated and Alison should have known she wouldn't have stopped contact with her mother.

She wasn't sure why Pam had been so inviting towards her although she had some suspicion now that Emily had asked her mother to look out for her and Pam being Pam had taken it to another level completely. A mothering level. She wasn't complaining in the slightest, Pam had been there for her on some of her darkest days in the past five years, she just wished it had been another Fields woman who had been comforting her.

Looking back towards Hanna Alison began to slowly shake her head. At the end of the day she had already made a commitment to Elliot when she had accepted his proposal and who now stood waiting patiently for her on the other side of the room. It didn't matter about Emily today, she wasn't there and he was. She could have stopped all of this but for whatever reason she hadn't bothered, she hadn't bothered for the last five years.

Hanna knew what was going through the other blondes mind and she didn't know what else to say to Alison, mentioning Pam had been her last resort and obviously it hadn't worked. Alison was still as stubborn as she had been in school and today she was proving as such. Her sheer determination to prove to everyone that she was fine and everything in her life was going ok was outweighing the emptiness that she felt in her heart.

Without saying another word Alison brushed past Hanna, their shoulders bumping lightly against one another and she left the confines of the room. She avoided looking in the mirror as she left knowing that seeing any doubt in her own eyes could have an adverse effect. Joining Aria and Spencer, who stood in their matching lilac bridesmaid dresses side by side outside the main entrance to the church, Alison took her place in front of them ready to make the biggest mistake of her life.

Spencer and Aria caught Hanna's eye as she took her own place besides them and she sadly shook her head. They knew she would have tried to persuade Alison to change her mind, even if they both believed that Alison was actually happy with Elliot. All be it not as happy as she would be should she be with Emily.

The weather did not reflect Alison's mood but as she was sure everyone would keep telling her after the ceremony - "it is perfect weather for a wedding". The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, it was hot outside but not hot enough to make you uncomfortable. Had it been raining or if there had even been one cloud Alison may have taken it as a sign from the universe telling her not to go ahead but with the weather as it was it gave her just another reason to continue.

Alison entered the church and walked slowly up the aisle towards Elliot, who raised his head upon hearing the door open and a smile spread genuinely across his face. He really was in love with her and that didn't help with the guilt she felt inside. All heads turned towards her and she was met with an abundance of smiling faces. The guests were mainly Elliot's family, her own father had left town once Charlotte was revealed as A and their communication between one another was very limited. Jason was travelling the world and had apologised for not being able to make it but he had also met Elliot before she had become involved with him and he had expressed his distaste in the man then so it didn't surprise her when her brother told her he was busy.

Jason didn't trust Elliot, he said the man gave him a funny feeling and once Alison had announced she was dating him Jason's contact also began to get slightly more limited than it had been previously. She however hadn't seen what Jason had and continued her relationship with Elliot despite her brothers concern.

Charlotte had also expressed her dislike of Elliot but her worries had fallen on deaf ears, it didn't help that she was locked up in a mental asylum for torturing Alison's friends. Her opinion mattered little to Alison, she wanted to see her sister improve her health but nothing more.

This meant that all the people facing her, between Elliot's family and friends and a few of the teachers from Rosewood High where she had returned to teach English, didn't know the truth. They couldn't look her straight in the eye and see the fear and uncertainty that was circling.

"You don't have to go through with this" Hanna whispered as she closed the gap behind Alison in a one last ditch attempt to get one of her best friends to see sense.

Alison ignored her statement and took her place besides Elliot in front of the reverend, she dare not turn around for she knew the faces wouldn't be the ones she wanted to see sat there. Hanna had reluctantly sat beside Spencer and Aria without causing a scene, if this was truly what Alison wanted then she couldn't stop her and if it wasn't but she was still continuing then there was still nothing she could say that she hadn't already.

The background music that Alison had walked down the aisle to faded as the Reverend began to speak and Alison had to forcibly stop her legs from turning around and leaving. From keeping her unable to move when she stood in the back room to now trying to force her into running away, it was as if her body knew that she wasn't happy with her decision but her mind was currently winning the battle when it came to it. It shouldn't be this hard and she knew it, but her stubbornness and reluctance to believe she would ever see Emily again kept her rooted to the spot.

As Alison zoned back in to what the reverend was saying she realised that it was the moment that in her dream Emily would storm in and object. Reality though had no one say any objections when asked although Hanna did cough rather loudly which earned her an elbow in the ribs courtesy of Spencer. It was followed by Hanna's rather loud - "What the fuck Spence?" as she feigned complete ignorance.

Elliot recited his vows, his voice shaking slightly due to his heightened emotions. There wasn't another sound to be heard inside the church, everyone sat in silence as they listened to his words. Alison tried to concentrate on what he was saying but she couldn't, her head was jumbled with thoughts and it was starting to give her a headache. She also tried to keep eye contact with the man she was about to marry but again she struggled, her focus was on anything but.

When it came to her turn to recite her vows her mind went blank. She looked up at Elliot who stood proudly before her and she couldn't get any words out. She turned to face everyone who was seated watching them and quickly scanned the room, the faces looking back at her were not the right ones. It should be Jason, Pam, the other girls mothers, fathers and siblings, Emilys entire family and their joint friends they had made together.

Her eyes locked with Hanna's who was mouthing at her to not do it, to not go ahead with this mistake. The blonde was desperately trying to get Alison to change her mind. The pleading look bore into Alison's eyes and she shifted her focus once more. It seemed like several minutes had passed but in fact it had merely been seconds.

Elliot didn't rush her or try and encourage her to speak, instead he just stood their silently with a smile still plastered to his face. He was eerily calm but then again he didn't have the slightest inkling into what was going on inside Alison's head. She had managed to keep all of her emotions hidden away from him and she had definitely been living a lie since starting a relationship with him.

Alison looked back at the man she was about to marry and lifted her head to speak. Her vows were short but sweet and it shouldn't be any trouble for her to speak them. The ceremony was near to completion and it seemed to have come upon them all so soon.

"I... I" Alison stuttered before regaining her composure and looking Elliot dead in the eye as she spoke.

 **So... as you can see I've started a new story. Dangerous feelings is on hold until I get any ideas on how to continue it.**

 **I'm not sure if this should stay as a one shot or if I should continue with it. Let me know if you enjoyed it and your thoughts on if I should write more.**

 **I do have ideas for the second chapter but that all depends on what you think I should do.**

 **Don't forget to follow me on Tumblr: itskindaobvious**

 **You can send me questions about my stories or just anything you want to on there.**

 **Until next time, goodbye :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Alison still wasn't quite sure if she had made the right choice, her heart agreed with her decision but it was taking a bit longer to get the same message to her head. She was sat with her head in her hands, her eyes sore from all the crying she had done for the past hour. Her emotions that she had managed to keep behind a wall for so long all pouring out at once. She hadn't spoken a word since she said her last sentence to Elliot - "I can't do this".

She had ran from the church as fast as her feet could carry her, trying her hardest to ignore Elliot's pleas for her to reconsider. The devastated look on his face would be etched in her memory for a long time to come. She'd had tunnel vision as she headed down the aisle, everything was a blur apart from her escape. She legged it towards the church doors as fast as she could in heels, throwing them wide open before her as she made it outside and stopped for two seconds to collect her breath before running off once again.

Hanna's cheer that had rang throughout the entire building when she had told Elliot she couldn't go through with the wedding had almost brought a smile to Alison's face. She knew that the other blonde only had her best interests at heart even if that had meant lying to her face multiple times. At least she had been honest enough to try and persuade her not to go through with the wedding. When she had finally managed to calm down she would be straight round to Hanna's demanding to know Emilys last location but right now she just needed to be alone and to collect all her thoughts before doing anything else rash.

She had also caught Aria and Spencer's eye as she had turned around to leave the church and they both had given her a silent nod of approval. They had always allowed her to make her own decisions and to learn from any mistakes but they were always there to offer much needed advice when she asked for it or to pick up the pieces if not all had gone according to plan. She could count on all three of her friends to be there for her after this major decision had truly settled in.

Alison hadn't realised where her feet were taking her until she entered the clearing. The old giant rock still stood proudly in the centre of the trees, hers and Emilys initials catching her eye immediately. A.D + E.F written inside of a love heart. The red sprayed on letters meant more to her than anyone else knew, her and Emily had kissed as they sat atop the hard surface and Alison could still remember the fluttering feeling she felt in the depths of her stomach. The feeling she had pushed even deeper down and tried for so long to ignore.

She had walked closer to the rock and ran her trembling fingers across the jagged surface as she traced the outline of the letters before taking a seat which is where she still currently sat. The only person who would have ever thought to look for her there wasn't in town so she knew she had the place to herself for as long as she needed so she could gather her thoughts together and make a plan of action.

She couldn't quite decide what running out of her own wedding meant for her next. Sure she had done it because deep down she knew she couldn't make a lifetime commitment to anyone other than her mermaid. But that very person had been gone from her life for five years, were they both even the same people from before? Alison knew that she herself had grown up considerably in that amount of time, she was no longer the selfish little girl she used to be. There was a possibility however that the woman she had grown to be wasn't who Emily wanted anymore, maybe the brunette had finally fallen out of love with her.

And was Emily still the same kindhearted and loving girl she had been before she had left for college or had the past five years changed her beyond recognition. Alison believed that no matter who Emily had grown up into she would still love the brunette as much, if not more, as she had done previously.

As Alison sat running through a million different possibilities as to why Emily had cut all contact with her she felt as if somebody was watching her. It was an eerie feeling and a slight shiver ran through her body as she quickly looked up from the ground and scanned her surroundings. She couldn't see anybody or hear anything that would give away that she was in fact being watched however she couldn't shake the feeling at all.

As her mind finally went back to thinking about Emily the tears began to slowly fall down her face once more. Alison was sure she had cried more today than she had in the entire past five years. She suddenly realised that she would have to return home at some point and that there was a very strong chance she would find Elliot there, he did currently live with her after all.

She definitely wasn't ready to face he man she had just jilted however the sooner she spoke to him the sooner they could both move on with their lives. Elliot needed to pack up all of his belongings and she guessed he would move back to Philadelphia where he had originally lived. She was going to have to explain why she had done what she did and that was going to be the hardest part, in fact she was realising that running out of the church was easy in comparison with what she still had to do.

Unbeknownst to Alison she was in fact being watched. A figure stood close to one of the surrounding trees dressed all in black so as to go undetected. They didn't make a sound or make any movement for the entire time they watched the blonde break down. When Alison had peered carefully around the area the figures heart had leapt to their throat and they watched on cautiously hoping that they were in fact hidden well enough.

Once Alison had looked back down to the ground the figure let out a silent sigh of relief before deciding it was too risky for them to stay all be it the decision to leave was a hard one they carefully backed away from the clearing before leaving the vicinity entirely. They had been watching Alison since she stepped foot outside the church and took off in a blur. The figure had been sat outside casually on a bench in the distance waiting to see if the blonde would in fact go through with the ceremony. When they had seen that she hadn't they felt an incessant need to follow and make sure the blonde didn't do anything stupid. However upon seeing which direction Alison was heading they were slightly stunned and then curiosity soon became the reason for following.

They had looked on as Alison let out her emotions and there was nothing they could do to comfort the clearly distraught woman, not without causing more hurt than was necessary at that particular moment. Or so they thought. There was nothing more that they wanted than to envelope Alison in a tight embrace and never let go.

The lone figure was long gone by the time Alison heaved herself off of the rock and reluctantly headed in the direction of home. She had no tears left in her body, she ached from sobbing so hard and knew she had to face Elliot sooner or later, if he was in fact at their house. Alison had received a lift to the church with the girls which meant she was now faced with walking home, luckily for her she knew the paths through the woods like the back of her hand so it would take no time at all.

The front door was unlocked when she arrived and she gathered up as much bravado as she could muster before entering the hallway. There was no sign of Elliot and after she called his name and received no response she presumed he wasn't there. She wasn't about to search every room for him if he was in fact just ignoring her. Heading into the kitchen she looked down at her once spotless white dress, it was now covered in dirt from her slight adventure through the woods and she had kicked off her heels before she had even walked into the house. Her shoes were caked in mud and she knew that they were beyond saving.

Alison had left her phone at home in the kitchen before she headed to the ceremony and was going to collect it before they all attended the reception. She picked it up from the counter upon which it lay and wasn't surprised to see several missed calls from Hanna, Spencer and Aria. They had all left numerous messages telling her to get in contact when she felt ready to talk. There was no messages or miss calls from Elliot or anyone else for that matter. Not that she really had expected any.

She made herself a strong cup of coffee and headed up the stairs, determined to rid herself of the dress that clung tightly to her body. A reminder of what she had just done to a seemingly innocent man. Entering the master bathroom she began to run a bath, adding a mixture of bath salts to help her relax after such an eventful day. She fumbled slightly as she tried to get out of the dress but eventually managed it and left it in a pile on the bathroom floor before sinking slowly into the hot water.

Alison led there, a victim to her own thoughts until the water got too cool to be enjoyable any longer and she removed the plug before climbing out and wrapping herself in one of the big fluffy white towels that had hung previously on the back of the door.

She didn't rush as she got dressed into her cosiest pyjamas and made her way to the living room upon where she slouched on the sofa and wrapped a blanket around her before turning on the television. She was tempted to pour herself a glass of wine but all her energy drained as soon as her body hit the couch and so she decided against it. The television was already on a channel she enjoyed seeing as she had been the last person watching it having kicked Elliot out of the house the previous night so he couldn't see her get ready that morning for their wedding. Binge watching reality programmes required no thinking and that was exactly what she needed right now.

The slamming of the door a few hours later gained her attention as she jolted awake from the apparent sleep she had fallen in to and she heard Elliot growl out her name. His voice sounded a lot more menacing than usual and as he walked into the front room her eyes focused on his dishevelled form, he was still in his suit from earlier although now it was covered in several stains that Alison was pretty sure was alcohol and possibly some food.

As she stood from the couch, removing the blanket from her shoulders, he stomped over to her, a glint in his eye that she had never seen before. He looked angry, no he looked furious. As he stepped unnervingly close to her she could smell the alcohol on his breath, it was so strong and disgusting. She really didn't want to have any sort of conversation with him in this state, she knew no good would come of it. Alison decided she would tell him to go to sleep and they would talk in the morning however before she got a chance to he spoke to her.

"Do you think what you did was funny? Humiliating me in front of all those people!" He yelled at her, spit flying from his mouth with the harshness of his voice.

"Elliot calm down. I didn't mean to hurt you, I never meant for it to happen like this" Alison tried to reason with the clearly drunk man.

"Calm down?" He said with a creepy chuckle before bringing his hand up to her throat and tightening his grip.

Alison struggled for breath and her eyes went wide with fear. She had wanted to try and contain the situation quickly when she had realised he was not in the right frame of mind and instead it had escalated in seconds. She was turning red and her fingers clawed at his hand as she frantically tried to pry him off of her. She drew blood from his hands with her nails but his grip didn't loosen.

Elliot was sweating profusely but that was due to the excessive amount of alcohol he had consumed rather than the effort he was putting in to holding Alison where she was. He was a lot taller and stronger than the blonde and if he was in fact going to kill her then she didn't stand a chance however he suddenly let go of her throat and began to pace back and forth.

Alison heaved several times as she tried to get her breath back, it resulted in a coughing fit that she tried her hardest to control. She needed to try and talk to Elliot, try and reason with the drunken man because it was the only way she was going to get out of this alive. Once she finally felt able to speak she kept her distance from him as she tried to formulate her words.

"Elliot I'm sorry, really I am. But I couldn't lie to you any longer" she begged him to believe her, to accept what she was saying and walk back out of the house.

He looked up and stopped his pacing, the glint in his eye was still there as he glared in her direction. They locked eyes and for the first time since she had met him Alison was physically scared of the man that stood before her. Maybe this was what Jason and Charlotte had seen in him, had she really been that blinded by her sheer determination to push a certain brunette out of her mind that she didn't notice what type of man she had gotten involved with?

"What did I do wrong?" Elliot asked, his whole demeanour doing a complete one eighty and the glint in his eye seemed to disappear. The heartbroken man she had left at the altar in the church was suddenly back in front of her.

Alison raised an eyebrow as she studied him, was this an act or did he really want to know?She decided it would be easier to talk this side of Elliot into leaving or at least letting her leave so she took as deep of a breath as she could without causing too much pain to her swollen throat and tried to keep her voice calm as she spoke.

"I couldn't marry you when I'm in love with someone else" Alison decided honesty would be the best policy and she hoped that Elliot's anger didn't resurface.

"Who is he?" Elliot questioned, his voice a lot quieter than before, he almost looked pathetic as his eyes filled with unshed tears and he couldn't quite keep eye contact with her.

"They're from my past and I thought I could get over them but I finally realised I never will and it wasn't fair to stay with you let alone marry you knowing that" Alison replied sincerely, she honestly hadn't wanted to hurt Elliot but it was inevitable that someone between the two of them was going to be.

"What is his name Alison?" Elliot asked again but the edge to his voice coming back and he took a step closer to her.

"That doesn't matter Elliot" Alison said as she tried to control the situation once again but she was starting to panic as she didn't know how she was going to get out of this.

"Who the fuck is it?!" Elliot screamed at her, his rage filling his body once again and his voice bouncing off all four walls.

Alison couldn't believe that his anger had come back that quickly, it was almost as if he had two different personalities. This personality she didn't like at all and she didn't trust that he could keep it under control. He looked up from the floor and made two more steps towards her. She made two steps back but as she felt her back hit one of the walls she knew she was in trouble.

Elliot's fist hit the wall beside her head and she flinched away from the impact, a small yelp escaping from her lips. He smiled slightly at the sound of her fear and the sight of her trembling in front of him before lunging forward once more and his hand returning to its previous position around her neck. He held her up against the wall as if she weighed nothing, the anger that ran through his body fuelling his strength.

"I'll ask once more nicely" Elliot stated but his grip got tighter around her neck and she felt as if she was going to pass out any second.

Elliot was red in the face, his veins popping in frustration. The man in front of her no longer resembling the man she had agreed to marry. His eyes had a wild look to them and she wasn't sure if all of this was down to the alcohol he had consumed or because he had finally let his walls down and this is what had been hidden behind them.

"Tell me his name." He backhanded Alison across the face as he asked, her lip splitting open and blood instantly pouring out. How that was asking nicely Alison would never know. He then pulled her towards him before smashing her head back into the wall with such force tears fell from her eyes upon the impact.

As the words left his lips and he went to hurt Alison again he was suddenly hit around the head by something heavy. Alison couldn't tell what he had been hit with or by who but she was grateful none the less and as she slid down the wall she felt strangely safe. She brought a hand to her own neck as she tried to feel how swollen it was, but the lack of oxygen she had received over the past couple of minutes made her woozy and she struggled to stay conscious. She then ran her fingers along her lip and she was pretty sure it had split open badly from where Elliot had hit her. It felt like the blood was pouring out at an incredibly fast rate but she couldn't get her mind to focus due to pain she felt in the back of her head.

In fact she felt like she had passed out and must have been dreaming when she heard who she guessed was the person who had hit Elliot speak. She must be hallucinating due to the trauma she had just suffered, she definitely had a concussion. Surely?

" **Her** name is Emily. And she should have never left" the voice stated.

Alison tried to focus on the figure who was hovering above Elliot's presumedly unconscious body but she couldn't figure out who it was for definite. She was dazed from the blow to her head and a pounding headache had formed almost instantly making concentration for long than a couple of seconds impossible. She had been rendered completely useless and that feeling alone was killing her. She wanted to help, in some way, any way.

The figure moved over to where Alison sat and ran a hand gently down the side of her face before lifting her chin slightly and inspecting her split lip. The gentle touch felt familiar and she thought she could smell an unforgettable scent. The figure knew that Alison was pretty badly banged up and they left their hand lingering on the side the blondes face in reassurance. Alison felt oddly calm in their presence by that could have been due to the fact this person had just saved her life.

They both heard Elliot grunt and as they looked in his direction they saw him push himself off of the floor. Alison could only see blurs but she knew Elliot wasn't going down without a fight. He lunged at the figure who was now standing defensively in front of Alison and he threw out a fist as he attempted to fight her saviour once more.

Alison leaned her head back against the wall, suddenly feeling nauseous. She wanted to help but she had suffered too much and so she just had to sit there and watch the two blurred figures fight. She heard their fists connect but she couldn't tell where the punches had landed and she could hear the grunts of pain coming from both sides yet she couldn't tell who was winning.

"Walk away Elliot" Alison's saviour demanded, the tone of the voice not leaving room for argument.

That voice that sounded so familiar and had it not been for the constant ringing inside of her head and the lack of ability to concentrate then Alison would have known one hundred percent who had rescued her. As it was in that moment she put hearing that particular voice down to the trauma she had just suffered and nothing more. It must have been her mind playing tricks on her as a way to comfort herself and prevent her from injuring herself further.

Elliot may have been book smart and ahead of many others when it came to academics but in situations like this he was a complete idiot. He was being given a way out, a chance to escape without further injury but instead he just kept attacking. His fists seemed to be connecting hard and fast and yet her saviour was still standing. They must be injured but hopefully not too badly Alison thought as she helplessly watched on.

There was no way her saviour could keep up the attack either, after suffering several heavy blows due to Elliot's unrelenting desire to seemingly fight the death. They had been able to match him pretty well and had hit him several times but they were beginning to tire and it was just a matter of who landed the final punch.

Elliot was winning now and Alison saw the blurred figure of her saviour slow down their punches and go on the defensive instead. Alison shuddered with every sound of a punch landing and she fought with her own body to stay conscious. Willing her saviour to get the better of Elliot over and over in her head, Alison was afraid both her and her saviour were not going to survive this if they did not.

All of a sudden the room fell into a silence that was deeply troubling for Alison, all she could hear was her own laboured breathing. She blinked several times as she tried to focus on the disaster zone she now sat in. The blurred vision was finally fading and her eyes were beginning to readjust. She saw Elliot led unconscious on the floor in front of her sofa, blood splatters covered her living room. Elliot was severely beaten, his face swollen almost beyond recognition and one of his arms was clearly broken.

Alison was relieved to hear the sound of sirens approaching her house, however she had no idea how to explain what had just happened. She had no idea where the other person had gone, the only evidence that there had been another person at all was Elliot's beaten and unconscious body.

Toby was the first officer through the door and he ignored Elliot's unconscious body and instead made his way straight over to Alison. Kneeling beside her he checked her visible injuries which included her split lip and swollen neck. He couldn't hide the look of disgust on his face as surveyed the damage she had been subject to.

"Did he do this to you?" Toby questioned, his voices laced with concern.

Alison nodded in response, feeling smaller and weaker than she ever had before in her life. She then looked up at Toby and caught his eye, they were full of sympathy and compassion. He was so loyal to those he cared for and although Alison and Toby hadn't exactly seem eye to eye back in high school they had grown a lot closer in recent years. His engagement to her best friend definitely helping them to become understanding of one other if not friends.

Alison was still confused and although she thought she had heard Emilys voice she still couldn't be one hundred percent certain it was the brunette who rescued her. The scent she had smelled was definitely Emily but there was no evidence to back her up and until she spoke to Hanna she wouldn't know if there was the slightest possibility the brunette could be in the area.

"I didn't do that to him, someone saved me. He was trying to kill me" Alison rushed to get out her words.

Several other officers had now entered the house and they were surrounding Elliot. An ambulance had been called for the both of them. Before Alison had been led outside away from the scene she had glanced over at Elliot and was slightly disappointed to see that he was still breathing. She may have done a bad thing by leaving him at the altar but that was no where near a reason for him to flip out like he had done.

Toby had managed to get hold of Spencer and the taller brunette was on her way, Alison wasn't sure if that meant Aria and Hanna were on the way over as well but she really needed to speak to the blonde. She needed to have her thoughts confirmed, she didn't like the possibility that she had imagined Emily being there.

"Alison?" Spencer called softly as she approached her friend who was now sat in the back of an ambulance, the paramedics checking her over and deciding if she needed to go to the hospital or if they could just patch her up there.

It was decided that she did in fact need to go to the hospital due to the blow to the head she suffered when Elliot thrust her head into the wall. She had told them of her lack of ability to concentrate and the dizziness she had felt so to be safe she was to be admitted to the hospital overnight for observation.

"She was here Spence, she saved me" Alison replied sincerely.

"Who was here?" Spencer questioned as she climbed in the back of the ambulance, Toby had made sure that the paramedics allowed her to travel with Alison to the hospital.

"Emily" Alison said as if it was obvious who she was talking about.

"That's impossible. No one has heard from her in five years, why would she come back now?" Spencer couldn't get her head around it, the only reason would be to stop the wedding however Emily hadn't shown up then and how did she even know about the ceremony in the first place.

"Pam told her. I don't know why she waited until now to show up but she did and she saved my life" it was as if Alison could read Spencer's mind but the truth was it was obvious what was going through the brunettes head, anyone else would be asking the exact same questions.

"That doesn't make sense Alison, you've suffered so much today and the blow to your head might have confused you" Spencer tried to reason with the blonde, in typical Hastings fashion she was going with logic rather than believe Alison's words.

"I know it was her" Alison said before she succumbed to the painkillers that she had received and drifted off into a much needed sleep. Thoughts of Emily plaguing her mind as her dreams were influenced by the drugs in her system.

Alison had been placed in a private room where she was being kept under close observation. She had been admitted two hours ago and was still sleeping, her body needed the rest so that it could begin to repair itself. Spencer had stayed with her up until ten minutes ago but now she paced the hallway outside of Alison's room as she spoke to Hanna on the phone.

"You've been in contact this entire time? How could you not tell us?" Spencer questioned, the irritation in her voice clearly evident.

"Spencer you know I would have done the same if it had been you in that situation. I'm on my way to the hospital so I will talk to you then" Hanna said calmly, knowing the youngest Hastings was only mad because she cared about Emily and had been stunned when the other brunette had cut contact with her as well as everyone else.

Spencer returned to Alison's room after Hanna had hung up and took a seat beside the blondes bed. She had phoned Jason to let him know what had happened and he promised to be on the next available flight out. He had wanted to get his hands on Elliot after hearing about what the man had done to his sister but after being told how badly beaten he know just wanted to shake hands with the person who had done it.

Next Spencer had called Aria and the smallest of the five had voiced her concern over Alison's injuries and her revelation but told Spencer they would discuss it all as soon as she got to the hospital which should be in the next few minutes.

So Spencer just waited as patiently as she could for her friends to arrive, she drank a coffee that she had purchased before making the phone calls and it had gone slightly colder than she would have liked but she needed the caffeine fix because she knew they needed to get answers from Hanna if they wanted to make any sense of the situation.

 **A/N**

 **So I had several requests to continue this and that made up my mind. Hope you enjoyed the second chapter.**

 **Let me know any thoughts you had about it and any ideas you have for the future.**

 **Don't forget to review if you're enjoying it :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Alison awoke in a hospital bed that was situated in a private room the next morning, her body had been overcome with exhaustion and that had kept her asleep for the entire night. She had tried her hardest to stay awake as she and Spencer had travelled in the ambulance but it was to no avail. Alison hoped her condition had improved enough so that she could be released later that day as she wasn't too keen on having to spend another night there. Hospitals had always made her feel at unease, she found the whiteness of the rooms and the strong smell of antiseptic very disorientating.

At the thought of being released her mind suddenly went back to yesterday and she was unsure if she could actually spend the night in her own home. Even though she knew Elliot was under police custody she still felt slight unsafe with the idea of being in her house alone. This led to a slight conflict as she didn't have anywhere else that she could stay and she didn't want to be a burden to any of her friends, not that they would ever have seen her as such.

This problem was miraculously solved only minutes after her even thinking about it when she received her first visitor of the day. There was a slight knock at the door and after Alison called for the person to enter a smile lit up her face.

"I'm surprised to see you here Pam" Alison said, her throat still sore from her injuries as she spoke.

"Hanna informed me of what happened and I headed straight over as soon as she had hung up the phone" Pam replied as she made her way over to the bed and took a seat in one of the visitor chairs beside Alison.

"You didn't need to do that" Alison commented as she tried not to seem too overjoyed at the surprise visit.

Pam was like a mother to her and the reality was that she was extremely happy that the woman had made time to see her. Their contact with one another had been slightly limited after Alison's announcement that she was to engaged to Elliot. The older Fields woman knowing exactly where Alison's heart truly lay but not being one to cause a scene or go against another persons decision. She had decided it be best not to see Alison so she didn't have to say anything she would regret.

"Of course I had to visit dear. Now be honest with me, how are you feeling?" Pam asked gently, her mothering tone evident as she spoke.

"'My throat hurts a bit when I talk, it's still rather swollen and my head feels tender but all in all I'm ok. It could have been a lot worse" Alison answered truthfully.

Alison wasn't sure if Hanna had been informed by Spencer that she in fact believed Emily had been the one to rescue her and therefore she decided to not bring up the tanned brunette in mention to that very girls own mother. Pam probably knew if her daughter was in fact in town but Alison would feel a lot better grilling Hanna about the swimmers whereabouts.

"I meant mentally rather than physically, yesterday must have been tough for you and I am not just talking about the attack" Pam dove straight to the point, not one to mollycoddle but to ask the harder questions, it was a trait that Emily also shared with her mother.

"It was the right decision, it might have taken me a little too long to realise it but at least I did in the end" Alison said as she looked directly at Pam, she could never lie to her and knew she also wouldn't judge her. "I just wish I could have done it without hurting Elliot but it brought out a side to him I had never seen and was lucky to escape. Who knows how he would have acted once we had actually been married".

Pam nodded in her direction but seemed a little lost in thought as Alison studied her, there was something on the woman's mind and she was intrigued as to what it was. Pam stayed silent for several long seconds before returning her full attention to the blonde led in the hospital bed an idea had formed in her head and she was eager to share it with Alison.

"If it's too much for you to go back home straight away then you are welcome to stay with me" Pam said sincerely as she took Alison's hand in her own, she would enjoy having another person around the house even if it was only for a few days. The house always seemed so quiet nowadays, with Wayne no longer with them and Emily never in town.

Alison smiled at the gesture but before she could answer Pam spoke up again. "However the only other room that has a bed in happens to be Emilys old room. So I will understand if that doesn't appeal to you" the concern that laced her voice was soothing to Alison, Pam was the only parental figure she had left in her life.

"No that sounds amazing, I would love to stay with you Pam. I don't think I can step foot back in my house just yet, there's going to be too many reminders of everything that has happened. Thank you so much for the offer" Alison replied, her day looking slightly better already, even if she did have a pounding headache.

After Pam had left the hospital for work, giving Alison her spare key so she could go home as soon as she was released, Alison took a second to look carefully around the room she was staying in. She hadn't having really paid much attention to it until now. There was a card on the bedside table that she hadn't noticed before and she was confused as to who had left it. She doubted Spencer had bought her one whilst she had spent the night watching over her. Also having checked her mobile when she had woken up and seen the message Spencer had left her explaining that she had an important case at work and she would be back to check in on her later Alison doubted buying a card had been on the top of the brunettes priority list. The message had also explained that Hanna and Aria would be visiting her around lunch time and with it just being past ten then she also knew the card hadn't come from either of them.

Picking up the card she opened it and was slightly stunned to see that it was empty inside, no name or message had been written inside of it. The front of the card read 'get well soon' and had a picture of a Sheltie dog with a bandage on its head, making Alison instantly think of Pepe, the dog her mother had adopted before passing away and who now lived with her father who had taken a surprising liking to him.

There was no way for her to know who had left the card but deep down inside Alison believed it had been Emily. The tanned girl had made a strong bond with Pepe in the summer before college and the three of them had spent countless hours walking around Rosewood together, exploring the woods and different routes throughout.

Could she be reading too much into all of this though? Was she so determined to believe Emily was still in love with her that her mind went straight to her when trying to explain everything. Was the brunette even in town? There was a very high possibility that Emily was no where near, that she was off living her life wherever she had decided to settle after college.

Alison was released a couple of hours later after a full check up by the doctor, he was happy enough with all of her results and deemed that she was no longer at risk due to her concussion. She headed straight for the Fields house, not wanting to stop anywhere first and have to answer any questions. It had only been twenty four hours but Alison knew most of Rosewood would have heard about her running out of her wedding, it was a small town and gossip travelled fast. If they had heard about the wedding then she was sure they would have heard about the attack as well, the amount of police cars and ambulances there had been outside of her house last night would have definitely drawn her neighbours attention.

Alison knocked before entering the house just in case Pam was at home for whatever reason. The house was in fact empty just as she had expected it would be and so she made her way into the kitchen and prepared herself a cup of coffee. Hanna had been kind enough to go over to her actual house and pick up enough clothes to last her about a week, she really hadn't wanted to go over and do it herself so she had really appreciated it when Hanna had text her earlier to say she had already done it. The other blonde really was a good friend and Alison felt bad for snapping at her before the wedding. She knew that Hanna hadn't even batted an eyelid when she had demanded answers about Emilys whereabouts and was sure Hanna had expected the outburst to happen sooner or later.

Hanna had also put in her message that they would talk soon and she knew there was a double meaning behind the words. Spencer had by now told Hanna and Aria about Alison's thoughts on her rescuer and Hanna would be the one person other than Emily who was able to confirm or deny if it was indeed possible.

Pam arrived home after her shift to find Alison curled up on the sofa watching tv, she announced her presence before offering to cook tea for the both of them. Alison had tried her best to argue that she should be the one to cook, Pam having been the one who had worked a long shift and who should go and relax rather than doting on her. However as Alison could have predicted the older woman wasn't having any of it and scurried off into the kitchen without listening to a word Alison said.

Somehow Pam managed to cook up an entire roast dinner in what seemed like minutes and Alison was soon sat at the table besides her as they tucked into the meal. They made small talk about work and life, steering the conversation away from anything involving Elliot or other serious matters, before clearing their plates away and heading into the living room together to watch some television before it was time for bed.

Pam settled on a comedy game show, the lightheartedness of the programme helping them both to relax and unwind and it wasn't long before Alison found herself drifting off to sleep. Instead of allowing herself to fall asleep on the sofa, the blonde bid her farewell to Pam before making her way up the stairs and into Emilys old room. She had avoided the room all day, not wanting to enter it until she absolutely had to. It was definitely going to be emotional, she had so many memories of the two of them in that room, all of them innocent but happy nonetheless.

She gasped quietly as she opened the door and stepped inside, it was like travelling back five years, not one thing had changed. Alison guessed Pam had no need or urge to change her only daughters room, she never had guests stay overnight and she probably didn't have any reason to go inside of it.

Alison walked over to the window seat, it had been her favourite part of Emilys room and she would always be the one to sit there even when all the other girls were over as well. She would often just sit there and watch the outside world or read a book whilst Emily led on her bed doing homework, both of them quite happy to be in total silence around one another. Some days Alison would call Emily over to her and the brunette would gracefully get off of the bed and make her way over before settling in between Alison's legs, although Emily was the taller of the two they would somehow fit perfectly together and Alison would often run her hands through Emilys long soft hair before they both fell asleep.

Alison looked around the room and took it all in, she could have drawn a perfect picture of the room without even stepping inside yet she revelled in seeing everything once again. The medals and trophies that lined the shelves on the wall, most of them from swimming but there was one that stood out the most. It was a giant yellow ribbon with 1st place written on it, Alison knew that if she picked it up and turned it around then she would find the handwritten note that she had pinned on the back of it. The note read 'Emily, you will always be first place in my eyes' and she had given the ribbon to her after a bitter defeat at one of her swim meets.

 _Emily had taken the loss really hard and had excluded herself from the girls, she had pushed them all away whilst dwelling on the race. She blamed herself for being the reason the team had lost the relay even though it had in fact just been because the other team were slightly faster at the end of the day. Alison being Alison had gone against Emilys request to be alone and defied Wayne when he had also asked them all to come back another day as Emily was 'feeling unwell' and she had instead climbed up to the window late at night and crept into the brunettes bedroom. Emily had been crying on her bed, her head buried in her hands but she had known instantly who had just come in through the window._

 _"Go away Alison, I'm not in the mood" the brunette had snapped._

 _Alison knew it was bad when Emily called her by her full name, her mermaid usually called her Ali. But instead of getting insulted by Emilys tone she crawled onto the bed behind Emily and wrapped her arms around the toned swimmers body. Alison held Emily like that for the entire night and Wayne hadn't been that surprised when he had gone to quietly check on Emily the next morning and found the two friends in the same position._

 _When Emily had awoken she was in awe that Alison had in fact stayed the night and that she had done this without wanting anything in return, usually there was a reason behind Alison's kindness. Alison had then given the brunette the rosette, having decided Emily wasn't in the right mood to receive it the night before, a blush appearing on her cheeks as they both acknowledged the corniness of the words and the gesture. Emily however had stood straight up and put it in pride of place in the centre of all her other trophies and ribbons._

A tear ran down Alison's face as the memory came to an end, she was annoyed at herself for being so open to Emily one day and then closing herself off completely the next. She should have been braver and just admitted how she felt, she would never have been in this mess had she done just that.

Pushing herself off of the window seat she decided it was time that she got ready for bed, she headed towards the dresser but as she passed by the bed she was distracted by what sat upon the bedside table. A photo frame that was the lone decoration on the table apart from the bedside lamp. The frame had been another one of her gifts to Emily, this one a birthday present and it had the word 'forever' engraved along the bottom of it. At the time of receiving the present Emily had questioned what it meant and Alison just brushed it off as meaning they would be best friends forever. It was yet another ambiguous way of displaying her feelings towards the girl.

When Alison had last seen the frame it had contained a picture of all five of the girls at the lake one summer, a wide smile on each of their faces. However it now contained a picture of just her, Emily and Pepe, Alison was stood holding her Hollis acceptance letter in her hands whilst Emily stood behind, her arms wrapped around the shorter girls waist with the proudest smile imaginable on her face. Pepe was stood beside Emilys legs and was looking directly at the camera, he had been such a photogenic dog. It had been one of the last ever pictures taken of the two of them before they had separated for college and the photo made her think of the card she had received in hospital once more.

Everything seemed to lead back to Emily, from the feeling of being watched at 'their place', the voice she heard from the person who saved her along with the words they said and now the card with no words inside. But what did this all mean?

Alison undressed herself and put on a pair of her own shorts that Hanna had packed for her before walking over to Emilys closet and digging around for a few seconds. She came back out with a blue Rosewood sharks swim team t shirt, it was adorned with the name Fields on the back and she decided to wear that to bed. It was slightly too large for her but it still smelt like a mixture of Emily and chlorine and after everything she had been through she needed all the comfort she could get.

It was a rather hot night so Alison walked back over to the large sash window and opened it slightly to allow a cool breeze to flow throughout the room. She then shut the light off, plunging the room into darkness before crawling into bed and laying on her back as she faced the ceiling. For the first night in a long time she quickly drifted off to sleep, the feeling of being in Emilys room, wearing Emilys t shirt was enough to soothe her mind instantly. It was unbelievable that she hadn't spent hours awake whilst thinking of a million different things as usually she was unable to settle her thoughts down long enough to fall asleep.

As it approached two in the morning a figure, dressed all in black, manoeuvred carefully up the tree outside of the bedroom and climbed stealthily in through the window after opening it wide enough for them to fit through. They were careful not to make a sound as they didn't want to disturb Alison who looked incredibly peaceful as she slept. The figure sat on the window ledge with their feet resting on the window seat below as they watched over Alison.

It had taken some effort for them to climb up the tree, their body battered and bruised from their fight with Elliot to protect Alison. This had been the first time they had ventured outside of where they were staying since that day and their body was still well off from being remotely healed. Elliot had given his all and whilst the figure had been able to stand their ground and win it wasn't without taking a lot of hits first. Broken ribs and multiple cuts and bruises had been the result but they had all been worth it. The blonde in front of them was safe and that was all that mattered. Alison was also blissfully unaware that there was an intruder in the house, or so the figure thought.

"It's rude to stare you know" Alison sleepily stated, not moving an inch from where she led.

The figure was slightly startled and jumped at the sound of the blondes voice before regaining their composure and chuckling quietly. They should have known it would be impossible to sneak up on Alison DiLaurentis, especially after she had spent two years on the run, living on the streets to survive. They stayed hidden in the shadows of the room not wanting Alison to see the state they were in, bruises covering most of their exposed skin and the cuts they had suffered still oozing blood in places after they had been irritated during the climb up.

"Am I dreaming?" Alison asked, her throat slightly raspy due to a mixture of the injury she had suffered at the hands of Elliot and also thanks to being awoken from her sleep.

The figure didn't speak, knowing that if they did it could waken Alison completely and then they would have a lot of explaining to do. They were half tempted just to slide back out of the window and disappear into the darkness but instead they found they couldn't move a muscle. They were completely mesmerised by the blonde who looked beautiful even in the middle of the night.

Alison had drifted back off to sleep once no answer had come, deciding she was in fact dreaming and the figure watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. Unable to resist any longer the figure carefully climbed off the window sill and made their way over to the bed. They settled down beside Alison who had now rolled onto one side, facing away from the window. The figure wrapped a protective arm around the blondes waist and Alison brought her own hand against the mysterious figures and interlinked their fingers together, they fit perfectly. The figures eyes landing on the yellow rosette and they smiled as they thought back to the night before they had received it, the night where their roles had been reversed.

The figure stayed awake for the entire night, the feeling of being this close to Alison making their heart race and body tremble. When the sun began to rise and the room lightened enough to see clearly the figure decided it was time for them to leave, they needed to vacate the room before Alison woke up and realised she hadn't been dreaming. They moved the blonde hair that covered her neck and placed a warm and gentle kiss to the same area, their lips lingering slightly with a reluctance to stop.

As they slipped back out through the window the figure whispered farewell to the sleeping beauty and carefully made their way down the tree and leapt the last few feet to the ground. Yelping quietly as the impact of landing went straight to their broken ribs. As they stood up straight they were surprised to see a blonde stood in front of them.

"I thought there was a reason behind you staying away from her?"

The figure looked Hanna in the eye, unable to form a reasonable answer and knowing that the woman who stood before them would have seen straight through any lie they tried to come up with. They stayed silent waiting for the lecture that they knew was about to happen.

"You're playing with fire and sooner or later you're going to get burned." Hanna stated before turning around and briskly walking away, not waiting for a response of any kind. The figure followed behind like a scolded puppy and had to make long strides even for them to keep up with Hanna's pace.

They soon arrived back at Hanna's and the figure disappeared upstairs not wanting to give Hanna time to start another lecture. It had been a long night for them, having stayed awake for the entirety of it and all they wanted to do was curl up in bed and fall asleep.

Before drifting off they glanced over at the calendar, they had been in town for less than a week and they had already given in and seen Alison on three separate occasions. Alison was their weakness and that is why they had to cut contact. It would have been too dangerous for the blonde if they had remained as close as they once were. Everything had depended on them keeping their distance but at the first opportunity they had completely failed.

It had been a bad idea to go to the church but they had needed to know for certain if Alison was going to go through with the wedding or not. Had she actually married Elliot then they would have caught the first flight out of there and probably never returned. It had been tempting to enter the church and shout that they objected but then they would have never known if Alison had stopped the wedding for them or for herself. Hanna had repeated over and over that they themselves needed to stop the wedding but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Hanna had not been surprised in the least when the day before the wedding the figure had shown up at her front door. She had gladly welcomed them inside and sworn Caleb to secrecy about the entire situation. He was happy to oblige as Hanna had been the one to ask and he would do anything for her.

The blonde had tried to persuade the figure to just casually turn up to the wedding as if they had been invited just to see Alison's reaction and as tempting as it had been they had managed to resist. But they couldn't resist the entire ceremony and had sat down on the bench outside the church as soon as the bride to be had entered. They had watched from a distance as Alison had approached the entrance in her white dress and it had brought tears to their eyes. Alison was absolutely stunning and she was kicking herself for ever walking away.

After Alison had returned home after sitting on the kissing rock for several hours, the figure had made an appearance once again. They had been delayed on their approach to Alison's house when Spencer and her mother had left the Hastings house which was next door and spent several long minutes saying goodbye to one another. Veronica made her way back indoors and Spencer had then gotten in her car and made a rather long phone call before leaving the area.

When the figure could safely make it to Alison's house without risk of being spotted, they were horrified to witness what Elliot was doing. Angry with themselves for not turning up sooner or actually for letting the blonde out of their sights at all, they had marched into the house all guns blazing. Elliot normally would have won the fight between them but with the element of surprise at the start and the pure anger inside the figure at seeing someone lay a hand on Alison they ended up getting one over on him and managed to knock him out.

They had wanted to stay and make sure Alison was alright but having called the police before making their way into the house they knew they couldn't stick around without causing more of a scene. Also the police would want to talk to them about their fight with Elliot and they couldn't allow that to happen. The figure knew Hanna would find out how the blonde was and she would relay the information to them immediately and so they had reluctantly walked out on the blonde once more.

Alison had awoken from her sleep feeling rather relaxed, the smell of Emily seemingly stronger on her clothes than it had been last night. She was sure she had dreamt of the brunette at some point but she couldn't really remember any details. She had thought it was just a dream but as she walked over to the window seat she saw the smallest speck of blood on the white window sill.

Her mind began to turn at one hundred miles a minute as she tried to remember what exactly had happened in her 'dream'. There was only one place she was going to get all the answers to her questions and she knew that if she gave Hanna prior warning then she would be able to come up with a lie therefore she quickly got herself dressed and headed straight to the other blondes house.

Alison had opted to walk to Hanna's house, taking the time in the fresh air to calm herself down and be able to think straight. Her car was still at her house, not having moved since the day before the wedding when she had snuck out of the house to buy a tub of ice cream which she had devoured in a matter of hours that same evening. She was so mad at the idea of Emily sneaking into the bedroom and not waking her up, yes she wanted answers but more so she just wanted to see the swimmer. She just wanted to know that she was alright.

She made it to Hanna's house in record time, almost power walking the entire way. The sun was out and as the hot night had predicted the day was also very warm, she had definitely worked up a slight sweat. As she approached the house she looked up at and she swore she saw a curtain move in one of the top bedrooms. Taking a deep breath she knocked hard on the door and prepared herself for the conversation she was about to have with Hanna however to her surprise it wasn't Hanna that opened the door.

 **A/N**

 **Thank you for all you comments and reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying this story.**

 **Any suggestions on where you want this story to go?**

 **Alison and Emilys inevitable meeting is just around the corner but it's not going to be plain sailing for the two just yet.**

 **Emily has a lot of explaining to do, five years worth in fact. The other girls will also be involved more as they all have their part to play in the story.**

 **Until next time, have a good day. Don't forget to leave a review or follow me on Tumblr - itskindaobvious**


	4. Chapter 4

"Is she here?" Alison asked Caleb before he even had chance to greet her.

"Who?" He stuttered, uneasy when he was put on the spot.

"Hanna! Who else... wait is Emily staying here?" Alison's voice got higher with every word, determined to get some answers.

"N...no of course not" Caleb's answer was unconvincing however and Alison pushed past him and entered the house.

Caleb wasn't phased by her actions, he'd known Alison long enough to not take anything she did personally and he also knew when it came to Emily Alison would do anything to get to her. The blonde didn't bother to look downstairs and instead headed straight towards the bedroom in which earlier she had seen the curtain move. She opened up the door without knocking and stormed inside but it was disappointingly empty. There was however signs that someone had been staying there and the undeniable scent that was Emily lingered in the room.

Alison stood inside of the room in a complete daze. She now knew for sure that she hadn't been dreaming or out of it either of the times she had seen Emily, the brunette was in fact in town and yet not once had the brunette sought her out at a convenient time to explain anything. She had skulked around instead like some stalker/saviour rather than act like a former best friend.

At first she had been mad at Emily, angry with her for not having the guts to see her, for disappearing for the last five years. But now she was just upset, saddened by the fact that she obviously didn't mean anything to the brunette otherwise she wouldn't have hid in the shadows each time they were close. She may have saved Alison's life but she hadn't hung around afterwards, instead she had ran away once more.

Caleb stood in the doorway and watched the blonde carefully, he had sent a text to both Hanna and Emily saying 'she knows' as soon as Alison had headed up the stairs. He had known Emily wasn't still in the house, having watched her run out of the back door as fast as her injured body would let her, but he still knew that Alison would figure everything out the moment she stepped foot inside the spare bedroom.

Alison's final clue that gave up the figures identity was the friendship bracelet that lay on the bedside table. She had given all the girls similar bracelets when they were younger but Emily was the only one she had ever seen permanently wearing one. It was purple with Emilys own name stitched in white lettering, the brunette used to only take it off when she showered and it seemed that old habits die hard. There was a towel drying on the radiator under the window indicating that Emily had recently showered and Alison suspected she hadn't quite gotten around to putting the bracelet back on.

In fact the brunette had left the room in such a hurry to avoid the blonde that it had completely slipped her mind that she hadn't picked up the bracelet. That was until it was too late and she groaned internally as she hid nearby and read the text from Caleb. She knew that the game was up and was annoyed with herself for staying in Rosewood longer than she had initially intended to. Had she left after saving Alison from Elliot then the blonde would have never figured out the truth or so Emily tried to convince herself.

She knew Alison better than that and the blonde wouldn't have given up searching until she had found Emily. The thought of the blonde caring enough to hunt her down brought a smile to her face before she quickly removed it. Alison didn't care for her in the same way she did for the blonde, she never had and she never would. Alison just wanted answers.

Emily couldn't decide whether she should stay hidden or just face up to Alison right then. She decided to wait for now and gather up some courage before going to see the feisty blonde. Caleb finally text her to say the coast was clear and she could return, he also told her that he had been given the third degree by Alison but hadn't told her anything which she was grateful for.

Emily slowly made her way back to the house, keeping a careful eye out for Alison as she knew full well not to underestimate her. She walked through the back door and greeted Caleb who was sat at the desk on his laptop. Emily never asked about his work as she wouldn't understand anything he said about it anyway, she wasn't a very technical minded person. He nodded his acknowledgment of her presence before focusing back on the screen he sat behind, distracted by something. He worked at a high tech security company but was often allowed to work from home as all he really needed to do his work was a laptop.

Emily was still recovering and so carefully made her way upstairs where she would be able to crawl back into bed and hopefully have a little nap before Hanna returned from work. Her ribs hurt like hell having left the house in a hurry and she knew she should of been taking it easy. If she showed even the slightest hint of aggravation due to her injuries then Hanna was going to give her a lecture about rest and recovery once more.

Hanna worked in Philadelphia as a fashion designer for some of the top labels, she had taken the fashion world by storm once she had finished college and nothing could hold her back. She was constantly sought after and that meant she worked long, hard hours throughout the week and often had to attend different fashion events on the weekend but she still maintained a healthy relationship with Caleb and had time to make sure Emily was behaving.

Emily opened her door and took a step inside before jumping out of her skin, at the same time she heard Caleb leave the house and instantly knew he was in on this. She was slightly mad at him for the part he played but she knew that Alison was hard to argue with and the blonde always seemed to get her way. Alison sat at the foot of her bed with her arms crossed and a steely look on her face. The blonde was definitely pissed.

"So you haven't fallen off the face of the Earth then?" Alison questioned as she locked eyes with Emily for the first time in over five years.

Emily stood there silently, all of her usual confidence that she had grown to have disappeared and she reverted back to the timid fifteen year old she used to be. She put a hand behind her head and scratched as she tried to figure out what she should say but honestly there really was no words that would make what she did ok. She had been a coward and she knew it.

"I... um..." Emily stuttered and she dropped her gaze to the floor.

Alison stood from the bed and made two long strides over to Emily before putting a finger below the brunettes chin and tilting her head up so they were looking into each other's eyes once more. Both of their breaths hitched and their heartbeats increased rapidly.

"You forgot how to speak? I mean that explains why you didn't answer my calls but not why you didn't text me or even send a letter via carrier pigeon." Alison said sarcastically, her eyes narrowing as she tried to keep her composure whilst being this close to her mermaid once again.

"No I just can't think straight with you this close" Emily quickly said as her words fell out of her mouth all at once before she walked around Alison and made her way to the window. She stood with both hands leaning on the sill whilst looking outside, she should have realised Alison would pull something like this. She had reminded herself not to underestimate the blonde and only five minutes later her own advice had failed her.

"I didn't think you ever thought _straight"_ Alison quipped. She couldn't control it but internally she was kicking herself, this isn't how she wanted her first conversation with Emily to go at all.

Emily rolled her eyes but from her position Alison didn't see. The brunette just continued to stare outside as she tried to gather up her thoughts before speaking again. She decided to just get to the point and began relaying off exactly what had happened. She had to justify her actions and make Alison see she wasn't trying to hurt her.

"The day that I stopped replying to your texts

I had received a very threatening message. It was delivered in an envelope that also contained several photographs. The message read 'Cut contact. All of it. Or she dies. A.' And

I couldn't quite believe what I was reading. I thought we knew who A was, I thought that it was over but in reality that was just the beginning. I stopped the game before it could start, I immediately cut contact with you and I have regretted that decision every day since I made it. But I do not regret keeping you safe."

Emily stopped for a few long seconds but didn't allow Alison the chance to reply, instead she just carried on with her explanation once more but this time she turned around to face the blonde she had avoided for so long. Brown eyes met blue and there was a hidden electricity behind both, although right now was not the time for either of them to admit the attraction.

"I didn't want to find out what would happen if I disobeyed the note and I knew that whoever sent it was being serious. The photographs contained inside the envelope were of you. They showed you at Hollis College, at The Brew, at the sanitarium. A proved to me how easily they could get to you and so I did what they asked without question. The photographs also showed how happy you were with your life, I decided you were better off without me."

"That wasn't your decision to make." Alison said quickly, she was hurt that Emily hadn't even considered asking her opinion. She may of had a smile on her face in the photographs but the reality was she was crying on the inside. Everyday that passed and the brunette wasn't around hurt more than Alison could have ever imagined and yet she had been the one who had let her walk away in the first place.

"I couldn't be the reason you got hurt or even worse, killed Ali" Emily looked so regretful about what she had done but there was a conviction in her voice that proved she did what she thought was right. It had hurt her so much to walk away from the girl who meant everything to her, but if it saved her life it was worth it.

Hearing Emily call her Ali made her feel things she thought she would never feel again but she pushed those feelings away for now. Alison then stayed silent, observing Emily and her overall behaviour. It was hard to be this close to her but she needed to hear exactly why Emily had walked away. So far she seemed to have a legitimate reason but if she had just talked to Alison they could have sorted something out. They had taken on A and won before, surely they could have done it again.

"Elliot said something to me the night I found him attacking you. Just before I knocked him out and ran he said 'you should have listened to me'. He was A Alison, it all made sense to me when I realised it. He told me to stay away from you so that he could be the one that got to have you and I was foolish enough to let him carry out his plan. I fell hook, line and sinker." Emily finished explaining and she had a look of complete disappointment in her eyes.

Yet again Emily was blaming herself for everything that had happened, she wasn't to know who A was and that they were trying to make Alison theirs. She just thought she was protecting the blonde and had done what she thought was necessary. Alison was in complete awe that the brunette had put her own happiness to the side to assure her safety, it was typical Emily but she still wished she could of had a say in the situation.

"But Elliot and I weren't even remotely together until years after you cut contact. I only met him six months prior to you cutting contact. Why would he have been the one to tell you to walk away from me?" Alison questioned, something wasn't quite adding up.

"He obviously had a long game plan and the first part was removing me from the scene. He would have won as well had you not run out of the wedding" Emily commented in response but her words made Alison's eyes flare up with anger.

"I am not a prize to be won! Neither of you had the right to act how you did!" Alison's anger was more than apparent as she shouted at Emily.

The brunette put her hands up in defence as she flinched at the tone she was being spoken to with.

"I know that Ali, honestly I do. I didn't mean it like that" Emily stuttered out, timid in front of the former queen bee once more.

"Why didn't you talk to me?" Alison queried as she took both of Emilys hands in her own, her anger dissipating quickly as their skin touched.

"Because I know you. You would have persuaded me not to do it" Emily replied quietly, she knew the effect the blonde had on her. She could never say no.

"I wouldn't have made you do anything you didn't want to but at least I would have know why. And I wouldn't have spent the last five years wondering if you were dead!" Alison had started to calm down again but the more she thought about it the quicker the anger built back up inside of her. She had been worried sick when the brunette had first cut all contact and that worry had never truly subsided.

Alison couldn't listen to any more right then, none of what Emily was saying made complete sense. Elliot had only spoken to her a couple of times prior to Emily receiving the threat so it was unreasonable to believe he had gotten so attached to her that quickly. Then she saw it, a glint in Emilys eye as she asked the next question that showed she was lying.

"How would Elliot have known to threaten you? I never mentioned you to him"

Emily avoided eye contact knowing that the blonde before her could read her like a book. Emily had never been able to hide anything from Alison. She had thought she was being pretty convincing, having worked on her excuse for so long just in case she had bumped into Alison before she had actually wanted to.

She stumbled over her words as she tried to come up with an answer but ended up eventually drawing a blank. Alison glared at Emily, unable to hide the disgust from her face at the revelation that the brunette had spun her a web of lies. What had happened to the kind, honest girl she had once known? The girl who would never have dared lie to her let alone disappoint her.

"Wow. Did it take you five years to come up with that bullshit? You'd think after everything that happened in high school you would be able to lie a little better." Alison was seething, the words spat from her mouth before she just gave up.

She wasn't getting anywhere with Emily, the brunette wasn't going to tell her the truth so there was no point in sticking around. Alison turned sharply on her heels and strode out of the room, slamming the bedroom door behind her with such force the walls shook.

Emily just stared at the door in which the blonde had just walked out of, unable to really comprehend what had just happened. Why had she thought it was a good idea to lie to the former queen of lying she would never know. This settled things however, she was leaving Rosewood that evening and she definitely wouldn't be returning for quite some time.

Emily pulled out her laptop from the top shelf of the wardrobe and turned it on as she sat down on the bed. She was exhausted and her body ached all over but she didn't have time to worry about that. She just needed to get out of town. Not even five minutes later she had a flight booked and it left just before nine that evening, giving her a few hours to pack up what little belongings she had and to say her goodbyes to her mother and Hanna.

She was tempted to visit Spencer and Aria but she couldn't be sure if Alison would tell them about what had just happened and she also knew that Spencer would quickly figure out something was going on and she was like a dog with a bone when she went into detective mode. She wasn't ready for anyone to know the truth. Especially not Alison. So instead she headed to her mothers house knowing the older woman was off of work today.

It had completely slipped her mind that Alison was still staying in her family home until she walked through the front door and heard the blonde arguing with her mother. She stepped into the kitchen and both women turned around to face her, a shocked expression on both of their faces. Alison had expected this to be the last place the brunette would turn up and Pam was surprised that Emily was showing her face to Alison.

"Emily, we were just deciding what to do for dinner. Maybe you could have the deciding vote?" Pam said, trying to act as if nothing was amiss in this whole situation.

"What are the choices?" Emily asked as she looked between the two women.

"Pot roast or lasagne" Alison answered not taking her eyes off of Emily.

Alison wasn't about to be the one to make a scene in front of Pam and so acted as if she hadn't had an argument with Emily only moments ago.

"Well if that's the case I'm going to have to choose lasagne" Emily decided quickly, knowing exactly who had chosen which meal.

Alison raised an eyebrow at the brunette and shook her head slightly before heading to the fridge to remove the items she needed. Emily had always loved her lasagne and she should of guessed that would be the meal she would choose even if it meant going without her mums famous cooking.

Pam ushered Emily into the front room to allow Alison the space she needed and once they had both sat down the older woman began to drill her daughter but not for the reason she expected.

"How could you choose lasagne knowing she had to cook it. Alison has been through enough this past week Emily!" Pam sounded utterly disappointed and it made Emily chuckle.

"Calm down mother, Alison enjoys cooking. She's like you, she'll relax whilst doing it" Emily countered and her mother knew she had a point.

"Fine, Fine. So when exactly did you contact her? The last I knew, she had no idea of your whereabouts as per your request. Have your circumstances changed?" Pam replied.

"They haven't changed. She caught me out at Hanna's, she got to Caleb. Which isn't that surprising, she always had a way of getting people to do what she wanted." Emily said quietly, not wanting the blonde in mention to hear their conversation.

"You couldn't run forever Emmy, the past was always bound to catch up to you. It won't change her feelings about you, you know that right?" Pam said matter of factly.

"What feelings?" Emily looked genuinely confused.

"Oh come on, isn't it obviously how she feels about you? The fact she couldn't even go through with her wedding just in case you decided to show up even after five years of silence" Pam retorted seriously. She knew how the blonde felt about her daughter even if Emily didn't.

"I... she... uh..." Emily stuttered before being interrupted by the blondes presence.

Alison had finished preparing the lasagne and it was currently cooking in the oven so she decided to join the other two in the living room. This was going to be the second most awkward dinner she had attended, the first also taking place in this very same house when she had first come back after being on the run. Hanna had managed to get completely wasted that night and chaos had ensued.

With that thought not even having left her head the front door opened and in walked said blonde. A smile on her face as she saw Alison before bringing her into an embrace and whispering into her ear.

"I wasn't going to miss this for the world! You best have made enough lasagne"

Hanna then proceeded to enter the living room, a look of relief falling over Emilys face and Pam just sighed at the sight. She felt Emily should be dealing with Alison by herself, not with backup. Especially when that back up came in the form of Hanna Marin, a totally unpredictable person at the best of times.

Hanna took a seat on the sofa beside Pam, Emily had taken the armchair. It used to be where her dad sat and she felt closer to him whenever she was in it. Alison had only taken a step into the room when the doorbell rang so she turned around and opened the door. Spencer and Aria stood their and Alison looked at them with an eyebrow raised.

"Hanna said we'd be missing out on something great if we didn't come over ASAP" Spencer said in answer to the unspoken question.

Alison nodded and stepped aside so that she could allow them to enter the house. The two newcomers sat on the empty sofa leaving Alison with a decision to make. She decided to sit on the arm of the chair Emily was in and leant down close to her.

"This is going to be fun" she whispered sarcastically before sitting up straight and her eyes fell onto their unexpected visitors.

Spencer and Aria hadn't been able to hide the look of shock on their faces when they had seen Emily. The brunette hadn't maintained contact with anyone except Hanna and her mother for the past five years and so to see her sat their right as rain (minus the injuries sustained from Elliot).

Alison hadn't mentioned the injuries when she had been with Emily at Hanna's, mainly because she felt guilty for being the one responsible for her attaining them. But mainly because she had been more focused on where the brunette had been for the past five years and the lies that were spilling out of her mouth.

"So am I going to be the one to address the elephant in the room?" Spencer asked as Pam got up to check on the lasagne, her way of giving the five friends time to discuss everything.

Alison stayed on the arm of the chair, revelling in the closeness between her and Emily even though she was still very mad at her. Emily looked down at her hands, not knowing what to say but as usual Hanna was the one to break the silence.

"That's a bit harsh Spence, I know Em has filled out a bit but that is definitely muscle" the blonde said.

"It's a saying Hanna" Spencer said slightly exasperated.

Aria was unable to suppress the giggle that came out, it was amazing how easy they all fell into their old ways. Hanna had tried to stay in contact with the other three but when she spent between three and six months of the year hiding Emily from them all then arranging to meet up was often forgotten.

"I guess I should explain the real reason why I've been avoiding you all" Emily said quietly as she lifted her head and made eye contact with Spencer and Aria for the first time since they had walked in.

All attention went on to Emily as they waited patiently for her to speak. Alison couldn't resist the urge to hold the brunettes hand and she squeezed it gently in reassurance. Whatever Emily had been through it had definitely changed her and Alison was worried about what she was going to hear.

"I quit college only five months in. It wasn't for me, the stress of it all just overloaded me and I couldn't handle it. I felt like a failure but I already had a backup plan in mind and so I went with it. I joined the army."

Alison gasped slightly, not expecting that to be Emilys answer at all. She wasn't actually sure what she thought she was going to hear but Emily joining the army had not been on her list.

"I went silent as I completed my training due to the hectic schedule and intensity of it all. I fully intended to message you all once I had passed everything." Emily looked guilty about the fact she had not been able to message anyone.

"She didn't even message me until six months after and that was only under extreme circumstances" Hanna mentioned as Emily went silent for a few seconds.

Emily shot Hanna a glare, not ready to talk about those circumstances just yet. Telling them she had joined the army was hard enough. Spencer spotted the glare but stayed silent not wanting to push Emily too far or she might run again.

"What circumstances?" Aria asked unaware of the situation unfolding before her.

"Oh... umm... Em?" Hanna said as she realised that she had just let out too much.

"That doesn't matter, tell us about the army" Spencer said quickly, aware that Emily looked completely panicked.

"I passed everything with flying colours, so much so that I was drafted into a new special forces task group. It consisted of several experienced soldiers and me. I was the only female and it required me to remove myself from my old life.

Everyone stayed quiet and allowed Emily to speak, Alison's hand hadn't left Emilys and she was now leaning against the brunettes shoulder. Her anger leaving her quicker than she would have liked but it was always the same around the brunette. They both affected each other in ways they weren't always completely comfortable with.

"I decided to go ahead and join them. I had already gone six months without contact, I thought you were all happily living your lives without me or so I told myself to make the decision easier"

All the girls shook their heads in disagreement. Their lives were better with all of them in, they worked well as a group and had gone through so much in high school that nothing had been the same without Emily.

"At least that explains why even Caleb couldn't find where you were" Spencer muttered more so to herself.

Emily looked at her quizzically, she wasn't aware of any of them going further then sending messages asking for her whereabouts. Hanna looked between the girls, she had never mentioned to Emily that they had spent day and night searching for their friend, afraid that A hadn't been Charlotte and that they had taken Emily captive.

Once Spencer explained to Emily how they had set up camp at Hanna's house and searched in every way possible to find her, Emily shook her head in disbelief and shame.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even think. I've been such a bad friend" Emily apologised profusely, hating herself even more than she already did for letting her friends suffer.

"It's ok, you're here now and you're ok. Although you do kinda look like shit" Aria said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"I didn't expect Elliot to fight as if his life depended on it. The look in his eyes told me he was willing to die trying to hurt Alison." Emily said her head lowered once again.

Alison wrapped her arm around the brunette and pulled her in close. The warmth shared between their bodies from the contact and a blush appeared on Emilys face as she revelled in the feeling of Alison against her.

"I never did thank you for saving me Em, so thank you." Alison said sincerely.

Emily looked up and into the blue captivating eyes, they stared at each other for several long seconds in complete silence before Hanna coughed loudly and muttered 'get a room' under her breath. Alison shot her the famous DiLaurentis glare and the other blonde instantly went quiet. They were then interrupted by Pam calling them all in for tea, having now finished laying the table and dishing up everyone's food.

Luckily Alison had made enough lasagne to go around the six of them and Pam felt more than happy to have a full dining table for the first time in five years. She hoped that Emily would be persuaded to stick around by her friends and that the house would begin to feel more like a home once more. Although she wouldn't be surprised if Emily did decide to stay in town that she would purchase her own place rather than live with her mother.

Throughout the meal Emily kept glancing at the clock that hung on the wall. It was getting closer to when she had to leave, it would take some time to get to the airport and checked in. Yet there was something telling her to stay put, to stay in Rosewood. And that was more than likely down to the fact a certain blonde sat beside her at the table and that same blonde kept glancing casually in her direction when she thought no one was paying attention.

Emily was left with a decision to make and she really didn't know what to do. She still needed to talk to Alison alone. Especially after what her mother had said to her earlier, did Alison have feelings for her? Or was she safer walking away once more, carrying on with her life?

 **A/N**

 **I wasn't sure whether or not to introduce Emily and Alison to one another again so soon. Hope it worked well and you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know with a review or comment.**

 **Trying to figure out what direction I want the story to go in now. So until then! Bye :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Emily was currently sat on the plane with her headphones in, she was trying to drown out the noise from the other passengers but mainly she was trying to drown out her thoughts. She wondered if she had made the right decision in leaving Rosewood once more. It wasn't like she had a choice, her job demanded she be ready to leave at any given moment however she hadn't yet received her next orders.

Hanna was used to her skipping out without saying a word. It had happened on too many different occasions where she had managed to have a full on conversation with Emily before realising that the brunette was no longer there and neither were her belongings. Hanna had noticed earlier in the day that all of Emilys things were packed and ready to be collected with only a moments notice yet she had wanted to believe her best friend wouldn't leave this time.

If anything could have kept Emily in town it was Alison but even she had failed. They had managed to talk slightly once the dinner was over. Pam had left for work, having picked up the nights shifts that week and everybody else had gone to their respective homes. The talk could have definitely gone better though, it had ended with Alison storming out once more and the brunette walking to Hanna's with her tail between her legs before silently entering the house and picking up her belongings. She had been on the plane only a couple of hours later and no one yet knew that she had gone.

Emily decided that it was best if she just stayed away from Alison from now on, she was just hurting the blonde by being around her. The last words she had heard out of Alison's mouth were on repeat in her head. "If you cared you wouldn't have left me." But it was because of how much she cared that she had left. She was trying like usual to protect her.

Alison on the other hand had immediately regretted having argued with Emily once more and decided she was going to apologise to her face to face. It wasn't right to leave things as they were, she had said things she hadn't meant and needed to clear the air. Even though it was getting late she hopped into her car, having picked it up from her house earlier with the help of Pam and headed over to Hanna and Caleb's house.

Alison was nervous as she walked up to the house she didn't have enough energy left in her to have another argument with the brunette and would have to try and contain her thoughts depending on how their conversation went. She shivered slightly partly due to not wearing a jacket, and partly from the slight walk she had to make having parked on the side of the road due to Caleb and Hanna's car taking up the driveway. knocked on the door a couple of times and waited patiently for someone to answer, it was Hanna who opened the door to her and the other blonde was slightly surprised to see her.

"Alison? What are you doing here?" Hanna asked as she looked beyond the blonde as if trying to see someone else.

Alison looked over her shoulder thinking someone was stood behind her but when she saw nobody she turned her attention back onto Hanna and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is Emily not with you?" Hanna questioned and Alison was completely taken aback.

"Why would she be with me? She left Pam's a couple of hours ago" Alison stated in confusion.

"She never came back here... oh shit." Hanna had barely finished speaking before she turned on her heels and ran up the stairs, Alison followed closely behind as she realised something wasn't quite right.

They both entered the room Emily had been staying in and it looked completely untouched, as if no one had been in it for weeks or months. There was no sign of Emily having been there and Hanna knew exactly what had happened.

"Your talk with her didn't go well did it?" She asked as she turned back to face Alison, a glum look appearing as she connected it all together.

"No, that's why I'm here. I wanted to apologise." Alison slightly snapped, not knowing why Hanna was asking.

"She's gone Alison. She's left town again" Hanna stated before sitting down on the edge of the bed, she suddenly felt exhausted.

It had been a weight off of her shoulders when she realised everyone knew about Emily and her job. She had thought the brunette would no longer have to stay in hiding or leave at a moments notice and yet it had happened all over again. She was left worrying if her best friend was going to be alright and if she would ever see her again.

Alison let Hanna's words sink in before sitting besides her on the bed and putting her head into her hands. She was confused, sure they hadn't exactly ended things in the best way but that gave Emily no reason to just disappear again. She thought she was worth more to the brunette than that. She took in a deep breath before standing up and pacing back and forth.

"You're going to wear a hole in my carpet if you don't stand still" Hanna commented as she looked at Alison, the blonde was obviously in deep thought and ignored what Hanna had said.

"Where's Caleb?" Alison asked as she suddenly stopped pacing and looked back at Hanna who hadn't taken her eyes off of her.

"Downst..." Hanna didn't even finish before Alison was walking out of the room and in the direction of the brown haired computer whizz.

"Caleb, could you find out where Emily is?" Alison asked without explaining the situation.

He understood what had happened though having been through it so many times before.

He was always there for Hanna when Emily walked out of their lives without a word but even though he had tried on many occasions he had never been able to track the brunette down. The elite group she worked for in the army had made her completely untraceable and that was saying something because when it came to Caleb his computer skills were unbeatable.

"Sorry Alison, I mean I'll try but it's never worked before so I doubt it will this time" Caleb responded but he had stood up from the sofa and headed to his laptop as he spoke.

It took only seconds for the device to spring into life and once he had entered his password he started up several programmes that he would need to help him search for Emily. His fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard and it took him by surprise when he found a hit so easily. Emily had used her credit card to book the flight she was currently sat on rather than the company one that she had been given that couldn't be found in any system.

Emily knew what she was doing at all times and Caleb wondered if this was a deliberate act of asking for help. She must have wanted to be found as she had made it so easy for them but what was different about this time and how could they aid an elite soldier any better than the army itself? Caleb scratched his head in confusion as he looked over he information that was displayed on his monitor, not having spoken a word since logging on.

"I've found her" he simply stated.

Hanna and Alison's heads perked up at his words and they crowded around his screen. They didn't really understand what they were looking at but what did stand out was the location.

"Why has she taken a flight there?" Hanna asked as she read the information before her. "And how did you find her so easily?"

As Hanna started to ask questions Alison had gone quiet and was trying to process the information she had just found out. It had hit her hard when she had seen what city Emily was heading to, she wondered if she was supposed to follow or if it was all just a coincidence.

"I think she wanted to be found. I think she must need our help with something" Caleb replied as he tried to figure out exactly what it was Emily wanted him to help with.

"But why would she need our help? What would she need our help for? Why can't she ask the army?" Alison rattled off her questions one after the other without taking a breath suddenly being snapped back into reality and having an immediate need for answers.

This day had suddenly turned very complicated. From seeing Emily for the first time in five years to now receiving cryptic messages from the brunette that might not even be messages. Perhaps the simplest answer was the right one and that was that Emily had booked her flight with the wrong card without realising the mistake she had made.

"We took down A together, as a group we make pretty good detectives. I guess it's time to round the whole gang up" Hanna said as she took out her phone and sent an S.O.S message to Spencer, Toby and Aria.

And whilst they waited for everyone to respond and get round to Hanna's Emily was sat next to an excitable teenager who seemed determined to get her to talk to him.

"Have you ever played Fortnite?" He asked her, he had turned himself round in his seat so that he was facing her and his eyes were bright with enthusiasm.

Emily shook her head and tried to make it seem as if she wasn't interested by looking out of the window. The boy didn't take the hint however and continued to talk to her.

"It's a really cool game that me and my friends play on our gaming computers. You all land on an island, try and get guns and supplies and the last one left alive wins! I couldn't get to tier one hundred in time though so I cheated and spent real money on the game" he laughed as he said it before adding "don't tell my parents that though".

Emily continued to avoid his eye contact but as the boy continued to ramble on she decided it would be easier to just give in. He became even more excited when he realised she was going to talk back to him.

"I'm Alex by the way" he said as he put out his hand for her to shake.

"Emily" she replied as she shook his hand and gave him a genuine smile. It appeared he was on the plane by himself and was just trying to make the most of it so she couldn't fault him for that.

Her phone was on flight mode and she hoped that Caleb had figured out where she was heading by the time she landed. If her plan worked then they would be one step closer to finishing everything they had started in high school. No one had spoken up about it but they had all received messages from 'A' since leaving, all of them apart from Alison and this year it was her turn at the game. Although she had lied about Elliot being A she knew that he was or should she say had been in fact part of the new and improved A team and she hoped Alison remembered the lie she had spun.

Emily had been chosen to take the first turn by the new puppet master and from experience she knew that they weren't messing around. She had at first refused to play but A had dealt her a cruel blow that made her realise the only way to finish this was to play along until she could figure out who it was. Being a part of an elite team helped her when it came to research and yet she still hadn't worked it all out.

She had been able to send messages to all of her friends when it came to their turn warning them that if they didn't participate then the results would be deadly. However Spencer, Aria and Hanna had no idea that the warnings had in fact come from Emily but they had luckily taken them seriously.

Hanna knew to some extent what A had done to Emily but she didn't know it was A who had engineered Emilys unimaginable experience during her first year in the army. She had held the brunette close as she had cried when explaining what had happened but Emily had managed to keep the major details to herself.

When the other three had taken their turns they had also not informed anyone else of what they were being made to do but thanks to Emilys ever watchful eye they had actual not gone through it by themselves, not that they were aware of this fact.

Emily got off the plane the next morning feeling hopeful, she walked with Alex and made sure he was reunited with his father in the arrivals lounge, the kid had strangely grown on her throughout the flight and she felt a need to make sure he was ok. If Alison could see her now then she would know that the brunette had definitely not changed from the caring selfless human being she had always been.

That same hopefulness died the moment her phone turned back on, there was no messages at all except for one from Hanna telling her she would 'kick her ass so fucking hard' when she next saw her. Emily smiled at the message knowing that Hanna wasn't really upset with her, she was just concerned with the fact she had upped and left once again without saying a word. She was concerned that she hadn't received anything else from the group as that meant they weren't sharing their hidden pasts with one another which meant they couldn't make any progress.

Her phone suddenly alerted her to a new message being received and when she read it her heart dropped a little bit more. The army had requested she be ready to leave on a new mission in twenty one days. That gave her exactly three weeks to figure out who A was or face disappearing and having to leave Alison to face her go at the twisted game alone.

Caleb sat watching his computer the evening after Emily had landed at her destination, he was waiting for any more 'messages' from the brunette. It was all a waiting game unless one of the girls spilled about their experience with A and so far not one of them had. If one did then it was likely the rest would follow and they would have something to go on.

It was just Caleb and Hanna in the house once more, the group having spent another several hours brainstorming together but not actual coming up with anything useful. Spencer and Toby had been the first to call it a night, both of them had to be up early for work the next morning. Toby obviously had to head in to the police station before going on patrol and Spencer being a lawyer had to travel into Philadelphia for a high profile case she was working on.

Aria was currently taking a work break having released a book last year and not really having any idea what to write about next. She was waiting for some sort of inspiration and little did she know that it would appear sooner than expected.

Alison had a free period first thing which meant she got to have a lie in before having to teach English to the students of Rosewood High. She was meant to be on her honeymoon but had phoned principal Hackett and informed him she would be back in to teach, she would just wear a scarf to cover the bruises around her neck.

Hanna was heading into the city also but being the boss of your own company had its highlights and so she was also going to have a lie in before going to work. She had arranged to meet Alison for a coffee before as she felt she needed to talk to the blonde, make sure she was coping with seeing Emily again.

Hanna walked up behind Caleb and put her arms lovingly around his neck before pulling him the direction of the stairs and subsequently their bedroom. It was getting late and she was bored of not knowing anything, sleeping would take her mind off of it all at least for a few hours. Unbeknownst to either of them Hanna's timing couldn't have been any worse for as soon as Caleb had shut down his laptop another message was sent by Emily and it wouldn't be read for another seven hours and by that time it could be too late.

Emily had just left a convenience store and had paid for her items using her personal debit card knowing that it would flag up on Caleb's laptop instantly. It was the fifth store she had been into in the last half an hour and she had used her personal card on five separate purchases. It may have seemed completely random to anyone else but Emily had high hopes that one of her group of friends would figure out the message that she was trying to send. If she was to put money on it she would have to choose between Spencer or Caleb.

Her journey so far had been interesting to say the least, she always dreamed of visiting this particular city with a particular blonde however she needed information and she had needed it fast so hadn't had time to worry about anyone's feelings. She had been given a tip off that an old ally now lived here and she was determined to seek them out.

Upon leaving the airport she had been given her first answer in the form of a cleverly planned clue. It would be unnoticed by anyone other than herself and came in the form of an old man holding a board with a persons name on it, looking as if he was waiting to pick them up after their flight had landed . All the letters of the name had been in lowercase apart fro the letter A. The name had been immediately recognised by Emily as had the warning behind the cryptic clue and so she decided she needed to send a message home. With her now being out of the country meant she had to rely on the friends she had left behind to get involved and put some of the pieces together for her.

By the time Caleb had woken up and found the message left by Emily she had already had a rendezvous with their ally and was trying to persuade them to travel back with her to end the game once and for all. Caleb had sent the details of what Emily had purchased, how much it had cost her and where it was from to the group chat they had formed.

Spencer who normally loved a good brain teaser especially early in the morning to help her wake up was completely stumped. She had been over and over all the details and couldn't find a message hidden in them at all.

"They're such even amounts, I don't understand what it correlates to though. Why doesn't it make sense to me?" She rather irately asked Toby after she had called him to check if he was fairing any better.'

It was beyond annoying for Spencer when she couldn't figure something out, she was usually the first one to answer when they watched catchphrase and she always answered before the chaser did, correctly as well. Her mind usually excelled at working things out fast but today she was getting nowhere.

She decided to ignore the message for the remainder of work and focus on the files she should of actually been going through, her mind slipped a couple of times but she did ok for the most part. As she was getting into her car ready to head back into Rosewood her phone alerted her to an incoming call and she hastily rummaged through her handbag to find her phone.

As she slid her finger across the screen to accept the call Spencer was met with the excited voice of Hanna.

"I did it Spence! I fucking did it!" Hanna practically shouted down the phone.

"Did what Han?" Spencer said as she tried to muster up any enthusiasm she could find for her friend but the long day at work and the inability to figure out Emilys message made it rather hard.

"I figured out what Emily was trying to tell us! Now drive to my office and pick me up" Hanna's voice was extremely shrill by this point and Spencer had to hold her phone any from her ear to save her from permanent damage however the blonde still heard the groan her friend let out.

"Aww Spencey don't be sad that I'm smarter than you" Hanna responded in a childish voice.

Spencer ignored the taunt and instead told Hanna she would be outside in five minutes before she hung up and headed out of her office's carpark towards Hanna. They were back in Rosewood together just under two hours later having hit heavy traffic due to an accident and were unsurprisingly the last two to arrive at Hanna's house.

Caleb and Toby were both hovering over the laptop, their eyes focused solely on the screen and not what was happening around them whilst Aria and Alison were sat on the floor surrounded by different bits of paper containing all five transactions Emily had made.

She had spent in chronological order; ten dollars, five dollars, two lots of fourteen dollars and then just one dollar. The stores she had been in seemed to be completely random as were the items she had bought. She had purchased different items of food, a pair of sunglasses and some postcards. It all seemed to suggest she was just taking a casual holiday.

Hanna clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention before ushering them all to take a seat on the two adjacent sofas. She stood before them and began to talk.

"So I was sat in work today waiting on some designs from my apprentice and he was taking forever. I decided to flick through some social media apps, looked at some cute videos of puppies" she raised her eyebrow at Caleb as she said the last part and he just shook his head back. "And then there was a quiz to find out my pornstar name which I obviously had to take. It was Throbbing Hood by the way.."

"Get to the point Hanna" Spencer cut in, the blonde always seemed to get distracted half way through a story and start off another three instead.

"Ok ok, geez. The two last digits of your phone number represented a letter and that's how you figured out your name and it got me thinking" Hanna continued as she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and began to write on it.

"The amounts represent a letter. So the ten dollars spent represents the letter J , five is E, two lots of fourteen make N N and lastly one dollar is A" Hanna explained as she wrote each number out followed by the letter. She was rather proud of herself for figuring it out before anyone else had.

The entire group just sat there with their mouths hung open because Hanna had done it, she had cracked the code and they finally had something to go on now. It amazed them that something so pointless as an online quiz had helped them out tremendously.

"Which obviously spells out Jenna, that sneaky little blind bitch always seems to be involved. No offence Toby" Hanna finished off her explanation.

"When did you last speak to Jenna?" Aria asked Toby as they all began to shift in excitement of finally being able to help Emily.

"A couple of months ago I think, she said she was travelling but before I could ask her anymore my pager went off and I was called into work" Toby responded as he pulled out his phone and dialled his step sisters number.

He was surprised when the call didn't connect and the operator told him the number he had dialled was no longer in service. He had put the phone on speaker as soon as he had dialled the number and the group looked at each other with confusion. How were they to contact Jenna now?

"Jenna was at the high school today" Alison commented which drew everyone's eyes on to her.

"Why?" Toby asked rather bluntly, he was a bit miffed as to why his step sister was in town and yet hadn't mentioned it to him especially now that Emily wanted them investigating her.

"I'm not sure, it looked like she had a meeting with Principal Hackett but I wouldn't know what about. There's not any openings in the faculty that I'm aware of so perhaps she needed a recommendation from him" Alison suggested as she looked to Spencer for her input.

"It's plausible I suppose but it seems like too much of a coincidence that she is back in town the same day Emily sends us a message containing her name" Spencer said whilst Hanna and Aria nodded in agreement.

Caleb was on his laptop imputing Jenna Marshall's name to see if he could find out where she was staying or at least somewhere she was frequenting. He got a hit on the Brew and the lost woods resort, she had checked in to the lost woods earlier that morning and had visited the Brew twice since then. One of the hits from the Brew was only twenty minutes ago so there was a good chance she was still there.

"Caleb, Hanna you go to the Lost Woods Resort and see if she's headed back there yet. Spencer and Toby you drive around town and see if she's out and about and Aria and I will head to the Brew" Alison had spoken quickly but authoritatively, she was eager to get out of the house and into action.

The group nodded, it seemed like a good enough plan for now and they needed to cover as much space in as little time as possible so that Jenna didn't manage to slip away from them. She was their only lead and they needed to find out what her part in all of this was. With a slight plan now in motion, the group stood up ready to depart but they were stopped when Spencer loudly cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention.

"Before we go I feel a need to ask you all something. Something I wish I had brought up sooner but felt the need to keep hidden"

Everyone's eyes were on Spencer as she spoke, Alison was curious as to what she was going to ask however the other two girls gulped loudly with anguish. They were almost one hundred percent sure that they knew what she was about to say and now it was all starting to click into place.

"Have any of you over the last five years been contacted by A?"

 **A/N**

 **So slightly shorter than the other chapters but I had written everything I needed to and wanted to leave it on a small cliffhanger.**

 **Thank you for your reviews, I love reading them and they mean a lot.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"Bonjour Emily" a voice called out cheerily as the owner of it approached the table Emily currently sat at.

"Mona..." Emily replied nonchalantly as she bit into her croissant.

The shorter brunette took a seat opposite Emily and picked up a menu. The French restaurant was relatively quiet due to it being still rather early in the morning and that meant the two of them could talk about what they needed to without the worry of someone overhearing.

Emily had spent the rest of the previous day after she had landed checking into a moderately priced hotel before venturing out and seeing a small part of the city. She knew in her heart that one day she would end up back here and so wasn't too worried about fitting in all of the sights, although there was one I particular she was determined to see up close before she returned home. She had then dined out, having a delightful two course meal with a glass of wine in a small but busy downtown restaurant before having a relatively early night.

Paris was absolutely breathtaking, especially under the sun set as all the lights illuminated the entire city. Emily could see the Eiffel Tower from her hotel room and it was a bittersweet feeling. She had thought back to the conversation that she had shared with Alison after their French class. Alison had asked her to go away to Paris with her, forever. When she felt herself getting a little too emotional over the memories she had forced herself into bed in preparation for the next day.

"What brings you to Paris?" Mona asked as she faked a conversation whilst a server hovered by them.

"The sights and the food" Emily replied, her mouth still full of croissant and Mona faked a look of disgust at Emilys apparent lack of manners.

The taller brunette just smiled, the crumbs visible in her teeth which caused Mona to break out into a smile as well.

"I've missed you Fields" Mona said genuinely and Emily returned the comment.

After the server had taken Mona's order their conversation turned a lot more serious. For Emily to have come all the way across the world just to talk meant this required Mona's full attention and her own personal set of skills.

"What is going on Emily? The last I heard from Hanna you had completely dropped off of the radar" Mona stated, she was curious to say the least.

"The last you heard from Hanna or the last time you tried to check up on me?" Emily rebutted.

"I like to make sure you're all doing ok" Mona said but Emily didn't quite believe her, she kept quiet however as they didn't have time to argue.

"A is back, or should I say a new A is playing the game" Emily explained.

"A? I thought we left that behind in high school" Mona muttered, clearly displeased with what she was hearing.

Tackling A and their twisted games whilst trying to maintain high grades in school had been one thing but for there to be another one intending on ruining their adult life was another problem all in itself. They were older and wiser but that also meant A was as well, these games were more than likely going to be far worse than the previous ones they had encountered. Perhaps even making the doll house look like a five star hotel in comparison.

"A has started another game and it's Alison's turn next, we need to stop them before it's too late. It always seems to revolve around her and I believe her part in the game will be significantly worse than anyone else's" Emily said as she filled Mona in as quickly as she could. "I went first, then Hanna, Spencer and lastly Aria. I've seen first hand what A is capable of this time around and trust me this is worse than our high school tormentor. This person will stop at nothing to get the outcome they desire" Emily continued.

"And why would I be inclined to help you? Other than the fact that I am obviously a very kind hearted person" Mona asked with her eyebrow raised as she took a sip of her drink.

"Because as I understand it your middle name is self preservation and by meeting with me you have inadvertently put yourself in A's line of fire" Emily replied.

"So you've tried to get one up on me?" Mona said, a slight bite to her tone at being tricked by Emily.

"Think of it more as some slight encouragement to help me" Emily commented slyly, gone was the innocent fourteen year old Emily and in her place stood a women who had been through far too much already in her short life.

"To help you or Alison?" Mona responded dryly, she had never been fond of Alison and helping her was the last thing she wanted to do.

"If we don't stop A then we don't stop the game. If the game doesn't stop then surely it will go full circle which means it will be my turn and then Hanna's" Emily didn't need to continue any further, she knew she had got Mona's full attention once more.

At the mention of Hanna, Mona raised her head and locked eyes with Emily. The taller girl had a point, she didn't want any harm to come to Hanna. She had been very close to her back when they were all still in Rosewood and the two still kept in close contact even now.

"Ok for my own self preservation like you mentioned and Hanna's well being I will help you. I'll be in contact when I find something of use but until then enjoy your trip" Mona replied as she slid out of her chair and left the restaurant without even waiting for Emily to reply.

Emily continued to sit in the restaurant for the next hour, until Mona found something there wasn't much she could do except sit and wait and the view wasn't exactly half bad. She wondered if it was too early for a glass of wine and decided that it must be lunch time somewhere in the world. She paid her bill and headed further into the city in search of a bar where she could enjoy a drink or two.

The weather helped to keep her mood positive, the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky. The slight breeze kept it from being uncomfortable as she walked through the streets and her attire consisted of black skinny jeans and a t shirt she had purchased in a gift shop earlier. The t shirt was white with the Eiffel Tower in the centre of it and 'J'adore Paris' written diagonally across in red fancy script. She knew it was corny but when being in Paris for the first time she felt compelled to at least do a few touristy things.

She had made a decision whilst finishing off her croissant that she would visit the Eiffel Tower that very evening. She had to face up to her feelings eventually and this was one way to do just that. She had walked out on Alison once again and she felt so guilty about her actions, especially after the argument they'd had before she hopped on the plane and disappeared into the night.

 _Alison followed Emily upstairs and into the brunettes bedroom once the last of their friends had left the house. It felt somewhat intimate with them both in that particular room and it would have probably been wiser to stay downstairs however they were here now and had to deal with it._

 _Emily stood awkwardly, unsure whether she should take a seat or remain where she was. She didn't know how in depth this conversation was going to get and whether she would need to be sitting to deal with it. Alison however headed straight over to the window seat and made herself comfortable, she was going to get the answers she needed even if it took all night._

 _Facing away from Alison, Emily played nervously with her fingers and she didn't want to be the first one to talk. Luckily for her Alison spoke up and dove straight in with the hard questions._

 _"Why didn't you reveal yourself to me sooner?" Alison asked, her voice portraying that of confidence but inside she was shaking._

 _"Why didn't you go through with the wedding?" Emily countered as she turned to face the blonde who had been staring out the window until two seconds previously._

 _"Don't do that." Alison stated, annoyance in her tone and her eyes narrowed to glare at the brunette._

 _"Do what?" Emily feigned ignorance._

 _"Ignore my question and ask your own. I hate it when you do that and you know it" Alison replied as she locked eyes with Emily._

 _Emily broke the eye contact first, unable to stare into those sky blue orbs without losing herself. She needed to keep her head if she was to hold up this conversation and give the blonde the answers she needed._

 _"I almost did. I couldn't stand to see you so upset when you were at the clearing. It took all of my effort to stay hidden in the trees..." Emily replied to the unanswered question but was cut off._

 _"You were at the kissing rock? You just let me sit there and cry?" Alison asked as her voice cracked, she couldn't quite believe that the brunette would be that cruel._

 _Emily just nodded in response, not trusting her own voice in that particular moment. She couldn't let herself break down in front of Alison, that wouldn't help either of them. She had to stay strong._

 _"I knew I was being watched, I just had this feeling. I should have called out, made you face me" Alison's voice began to get harsher and louder as she spoke, anger growing inside her at the brunettes actions._

 _"I wouldn't have responded Ali, I would have just slipped away sooner" Emily said with complete honesty._

 _She saw the blondes self doubt creep up inside her before she had even finished her sentence and it hurt her to see it so clearly. She wanted nothing more to envelope the smaller girl into a tight embrace and promise her the world. But she couldn't. Not until she had taken down A._

 _"Ali look I'm sorry, I wish things could have been different but there are things that have been completely out of my control. The army just being one of them. I promise I will explain everything the second that I can" Emily had taken several steps forward and was now kneel beside the blonde, their hands intertwined._

 _"That's not good enough Emily! You walked away from me!" Alison was shouting now, she had no control over her anger and just let it all out._

 _"I didn't walk away, I went to college!" Emily replied, her voice also raised._

 _"You left me here!" Alison was now clenching her fists having ripped her hands out of Emilys._

 _"I didn't leave you here. You chose to stay" Emily tried to calm the situation down and toned her voice back to normal._

 _"I wasn't given any other option by you" Alison was still loud but at least she wasn't shouting anymore._

 _"You're the one who knew how I felt. I have no idea what you feel. Ever." Emily replied quietly, once again avoiding eye contact. The conversation had definitely gotten deep and fast._

 _"I love you!" Alison shouted once more but now she had tears pouring down her face._

 _Emily had no idea what to respond to that, but she didn't have a chance to say anything anyway. Alison like usual had let her walls down and let Emily in briefly before building them twice as high and shutting herself off. She stood from the window seat and brushed past Emily. The lack of response from the brunette telling her that she didn't feel the same. Before she left the room she turned around and spoke once more._

 _"That's why I didn't go through with the wedding. Because I am in love with you. Obviously you don't feel the same"_

 _Emily should have replied, she should of said anything to make Alison stay but instead she let the blonde leave the room. She followed silently behind and trudged down the stairs before quickly putting on her shoes and leaving the house through the front door that Alison was holding open for her. The door slammed behind her and she let out a growl of anger before stalking off in the direction of Hanna's house._

Emily reminisced on that night as she sipped from her glass of wine. She was sat alone enjoying the warm weather the afternoon had brought on the balcony of a classy bar watching the people pass by underneath her.

Alison however was reflecting on the past few hours and everything that had happened within them. Spencer's revelation about receiving messages from A had brought to light the fact that Hanna and Aria had also heard from them. Alison was a little confused as to why she hadn't heard anything, the last A had been obsessed with her but she felt almost narcissistic wondering why she had been left out.

 _"I received a message three years ago, I kept quiet because A told me too but also because you were all off living your lives and I didn't want to drag you all back to the supposed past" Spencer had explained whilst the others all sat with their full attention on her._

 _Aria placed a comforting hand on the tallest girls leg and gave it a squeeze in reassurance, Spencer gave her a slight smile back before continuing. She had never spoken about what she had done to anyone apart from Toby and it still haunted her to that very day._

 _"I had a debate scheduled that would make up a large amount of my final result that year. There was a lot riding on my arguments and how well I presented myself, the person I had been randomly chosen to go up against was a very bright kid" Spencer took a deep breath before continuing._

 _"He had a very bright future ahead of him, in fact I'm not even sure I could have beaten him in the debate. It would have been close, too close and I knew that and had accepted it, as long as I did my best then that was all I could do. But A knew how close it was going to be and decided I needed a helping hand" Spencer's hands were now shaking as she spoke, her voice getting quieter with every sentence as if she regretted everything she was saying._

 _Spencer explained that she received a text telling her to sabotage her opponent so that he couldn't participate or that A would do it for her. Spencer didn't trust for A to be reasonable in their way of making sure the student couldn't perform so reluctantly she spent the night devising a plan that hopefully wouldn't be connected back to her._

 _"You chose laxatives?" Hanna questioned as she tried to keep a straight face._

 _"No. They were on the kitchen counter when I woke up with a note from A. 'This should help you achieve your goals' was written on the piece of paper and I hadn't come up with anything better during the night so I decided to use what A supplied" Spencer replied and Hanna had a straight face instantly, something wasn't right and she realised instantly that this wasn't the time for jokes. Hanna remembered what A made her do and it definitely wasn't anything to laugh about._

 _"Did it work?" Aria asked, more concerned about what her friend had gone through._

 _Spencer looked up from where she sat, her eyes were starting to water as she remembered everything she had tried to to repress. She shook her head and the other three girls tried to figure out what had gone wrong. Caleb was listening in but had been typing away on his laptop ever since Spencer had started talking. He was trying to find out if he could find any mistakes made by A back when Spencer had been contacted. He had run through pages of messages to and from Spencer's phone number around the same timeframe but hadn't got a hit yet._

 _Toby had left the room momentarily when the police force had rang him, luckily he wasn't needed in until later that evening so he could still go out looking for Jenna after the girls had filled everyone in on their latest experiences with A. He was now stood in the doorway listening to Spencer talk and knew it was hard for his girlfriend to have to bring this all up again. He had only been able to get her to tell him everything when he had found her curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor of her college apartment bawling her eyes out and muttering to herself over and over._

 _It had taken a lot of gentle coaxing to make her comfortable enough to stop shaking let alone speak but after an hour of trying he had managed to calm her down and as they led rather snuggly together in her single bed Spencer had confessed to what she had done._

 _"The laxatives didn't work, I'd slipped them into his drink after distracting him inside the colleges coffee shop but what I didn't realise is that he had been buying the drink for his girlfriend who had just turned up to meet him. His drink was already on the table I guess, I'm not sure because I didn't stick around to find out." Spencer's tears were streaming down her face and she made no effort to stop them, it was all becoming too much for her but she had to finish her story. It might help lead them to A._

 _"It wasn't laxatives" Spencer whispered so quietly they barely heard her._

 _"What do you mean they weren't laxatives?" Alison asked, realising that what she was about to hear would completely change things._

 _"The student didn't turn up for the debate and I got put against a complete novice. I won, in fact I aced it but soon after I finished my last lecture of the day I heard the rumours"_

 _"Rumours?" All three girls said together. Caleb's attention was now completely on Spencer and he was finding it just as hard as the girls were to listen to how upset Spencer was. Aria had moved impossibly close to the taller brunette and was embracing her as if her life depended on it. She wasn't sure if it was to comfort Spencer or herself but it didn't really seem to be working either way._

 _Hanna and Alison were sat silently with open mouths, both knowing that something really bad must have happened for Spencer to be this worked up about it. After everything that had happened with A during high school they had all been through a lot and thought nothing would ever be able to get to them. But this new A was a whole other board game, they were lethal without conscience._

 _"It was poison. The students girlfriend had died in hospital the evening after I slipped the tablets into the drink. They had tried to save her life but it was such a high amount of poison that the doctors didn't stand a chance" Spencer finished off with her eyes glued to the floor, the guilt she had felt back then had hit her like a tonne of bricks once more and she couldn't look her friends in the eye._

 _"Was there not an investigation?" Caleb queried, he was the only one seemingly able to speak with the girls all in complete silence due to the shock of what they had just heard._

 _"The cameras in the coffee shop were down that day. I suspect that was A's doing so it's still an open case, the murderer was obviously never found." Spencer solemnly replied._

 _"A made you do it Spencer, you had no choice" Alison tried to reason._

 _"I killed someone for better grades, what kind of person does that make me?!" Spencer cried out._

 _"You weren't to know Spence, none of us were to know what A really had planned for us" Aria replied, she decided it was now her turn to fill the others in on what A made her do._

 _Everyone's attention shifted from Spencer to Aria as the shorter girl took in a deep breath to calm herself. She had literally told no one about this, her and Ezra had split before she had left for college and so she had not had anyone to confide in. Like Spencer she had decided not to inform the girls for lack of wanting to destroy their apparent happiness._

 _"I didn't kill anyone, but I did ruin someone's life. I was contacted by A two years ago and my story is pretty short. I was told to put some files onto a fellow students laptop, I didn't know what those files contained but I can definitely take a guess. The police swarmed the college that very same day and I never saw that student again. He was arrested for paedophilia." Aria explained her experience quickly, not wanting to linger on the memories of the day for too long._

 _"Do you think there was a reason those students were chosen?" Caleb asked both Spencer and Aria._

 _They looked between each other before they both shook their heads. As far as they knew the students had been chosen at random, both students having been good people in everyone's eyes._

 _"Guess it's my turn to speak then" Hanna said as the group turned towards her. Caleb wore a shocked expression because Hanna had never mentioned her turn with A to him. She hadn't even told Emily on one of her infrequent visits._

 _"When?" Caleb asked, afraid that Hanna had been bottling up her emotions for far too long and not confiding in him._

 _"Last year. Again I didn't kill anyone but they were seriously injured." Hanna continued before a gasp left Alison's lips._

 _Alison was realising that it could very well be her in this position soon and she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to deal with the whole 'A experience' again. She definitely wasn't strong enough to face it alone like her friends had and she marvelled at how well they seemed to have coped._

 _"I was told to send a message asking a colleague at the fashion label I was working for to meet me in a specific spot. I was then to text them again saying I was running late. It was all on the news, minutes after I should have met them." Hanna shifted uncomfortably as she spoke._

 _"That was A?" Spencer questioned, she remembered what had happened having seen it on the news and she had phoned Hanna to ask if she had been close to the colleague. Hanna had denied knowing them to her and just said the entire department as a whole was upset at what had happened. She had seemed so genuine when she lied but then again they had all had great practice for years._

 _"Yes. A ran a car into the colleague I had told to meet me and paralysed her from the waist down. Somehow A also managed to flee the scene and the police found no evidence so again it's an open case" Hanna concluded._

 _"All of those things could be linked back to you all if A decides, they have you in the palm of their hands" Hanna and Alison both jumped at the sound of Toby's voice, completely forgetting that he was there._

 _"I'm guessing it's the same with whatever Emily went through and will be if they manage to get Alison to take her turn" Caleb added as he tried to work out what A could possibly want._

 _"Would A be doing all this just to put us in prison?" Aria questioned but Hanna shook her head._

 _"Not a chance, this is all leading up to something bigger. Like a grand finale or something" the blonde said as she tried to figure out who it could possibly be._

 _"So it looks like A is targeting one of us each year, which explains why Emily is so determined to end this. It's another persons turn" Spencer analysed._

 _"You think she knows what we've been through?" Aria quietly asked, not wanting to know why her friend wouldn't have helped or even said about it if she did know something._

 _"Yes. With her job and her reaction to all of this then I believe she knows." Spencer replied._

 _"Has she had a turn? Or is she panicking because it's Alison's turn?" Hanna questioned as she looked around the group although it seemed that if she herself didn't know whether Emily had taken a turn at A's game then the others probably wouldn't either._

 _"I'm not..." Alison began to say before she was cut off by Hanna._

 _"Shit!" She exclaimed loudly before continuing her train of thought. "She's had her turn, it's Alison's next."_

 _"How do you know?" Alison asked, if it was her turn then they needed to know for definite so they could make some sort of plan._

 _"I think she needs to tell us the story herself but I remember something she said to me which didn't make sense at the time but it does now. Emily has had the worst experience with A too if I'm right which would explain why she's so desperate to solve this" Hanna explained to the group._

 _"We need to talk to Jenna and fast" Toby said as he headed towards the door and everybody filed outside after him._

 _The group split up, Caleb and Hanna left first in the blondes car and headed towards the Lost Woods Resort as quickly as Caleb would allow Hanna to drive. Spencer and Toby hopped into Toby's car and began their crawl around the town checking every street for any sign of Jenna which left Aria and Alison together. They headed to where Alison's car was park as Aria had grabbed a lift with Spencer and Toby after the earlier sos message had been received._

 _"Aria I need you to drop me somewhere else as soon as we've checked out the Brew. I'm sure Jenna won't be there but I can't risk you going by yourself just in case but please promise me you won't stop me after" Alison turned to the smaller girl and looked her in the eye as she spoke._

 _Aria could see how serious Alison was about whatever decision she had just made and knew that she would be a fool to try and stop her once her mind was set. Alison may have grown up but she was still as stubborn as she had ever been. Aria agreed to take her where she needed to go without argument and genuinely smiled when Alison told her the destination._

It was now evening time in Paris and as Emily stood in front of the Eiffel Tower she felt a couple of tears slide down her cheeks but she didn't wipe them away. Instead she took in the beautiful sight before her, the Tower was illuminated by its lights and the last of the evening sun peeked out from the horizon. There was at most twenty minutes of daylight left and Emily was going to spend all of them stood in that exact spot. It was picturesque.

"I said that you would look good on top of the Eiffel Tower, however you may just look even better stood beneath it" Alison whispered just loud enough for Emily to hear as she stepped beside the brunette.

Emily whipped her head in Alison's direction and just stared at her, she was completely speechless. She had known that Caleb would trace where she was, in fact she needed him too in order to piece parts of the puzzle together but she had never in a million years thought that anyone would chase her here. Let alone Alison.

"You really thought I'd let you visit Paris without me?" Alison questioned as she put an arm around Emilys waist and rested her head against the taller girls shoulder.

Emily was slightly slow to react but in the end wrapped an arm around the blondes shoulder and squeezed her close. She revelled in the feeling of having Alison so close to her and couldn't help but lean into the embrace so that her head was resting against the top of the blondes.

In that moment they forgot about the past, forgot about all the arguments including the most recent one and just enjoyed the fact that they were both in Paris together. What was once a fantasy for both of them had managed to become reality even in the most difficult of times.

"I love you too Ali" Emily said quietly not wanting to break them out of the trance they were in but needing the blonde to know exactly how she felt. She wished she had said it sooner for that might have been the last words she ever said to the blonde beauty beside her.

 **A/N**

 **Finally finished this chapter. I had the start and finish written days ago but just couldn't figure out what to put in the middle.**

 **Again any suggestions or ideas you have I would love to hear. They genuinely help me, even if it's just as encouragement or filler ideas for chapters :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the direction in which the story is heading. Any ideas on what Emilys task from A was? (I have already decided and it was a cruel thing for A to do)**

 **Review or comment as always and until next time, goodbye**


	7. Chapter 7

"Why are you here Ali?" Emily asked cautiously as they broke apart from one another and headed towards the Eiffel Tower. They had decided to take advantage of the situation they had found themselves in and so were going inside the Eiffel Tower and up to the observation deck to see the view of the city.

"I needed to see you. I've bought an open ticket and will return to Rosewood when you do. I can't let you do this alone and we all need to have a group chat face to face" Alison replied before taking Emily by the hand and interlinking their fingers together.

The brunette looked slightly confused by the gesture even after they had both admitted how they felt about one another. She was so used to Alison pushing her away rather than showing her feelings and it would take some getting used to.

"But we're not discussing anything serious until we're back in Rosewood. Let's just enjoy Paris. Together." Alison continued to say but as they walked she now had a slight skip in her step.

Emily nodded more so to herself but Alison saw the gesture and smiled happily. This could definitely be the start of something exciting and she was looking forward to spending the next few days with Emily. The Eiffel Tower was just the first of many sights they were going to get to see together.

After they had entered the Eiffel Tower the two of them headed up to the observation deck and took in the amazing sight before them. The lights of the city shon brightly below and Alison moved towards the railing so she could get a better view. As she stood with both hands gripping the bar in front of the safety window, heights not exactly her favourite thing, Emily stepped behind her and wrapped her arms securely around the blondes waist. Alison let out a contented sigh at the feeling before resuming her gaze of the city.

Considering how the past few weeks had gone for her what with running away from her wedding to finding out A was still out there and hunting them down one by one, this was a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn around and she was grateful. There was only so much negativity one could take before it started to affect you and weigh you down, no matter how strong you thought you were. Emily squeezed Alison gently in their embrace as if knowing exactly what was running through the blondes mind before placing a gentle and soothing kiss to the back of her head.

"Isn't it breathtaking?" Alison asked as she looked down at the city below them in awe.

"Yes you are" Emily replied, well aware of how corny she sounded but honestly she couldn't care less.

"Goof" Alison replied with a slight chuckle before turning slightly and putting a hand behind the brunettes neck. She then pulled Emily closer and pressed their lips together.

Emily was slightly stunned by the response but soon found herself kissing the blonde back and what started as an innocent kiss soon turned pretty heated. French kissing in France was a must she supposed and before that thought had even left her mind Alison ran her tongue along Emilys lip and begged her for entrance. Emily complied almost instantaneously and they were able to taste each other for the first time in years. Emilys stomach did flips as she shared the intimate moment with her soulmate in the one place they had both dreamed of visiting together for years beforehand.

They were both breathless as they broke apart and Emily had a lopsided grin on her face that warmed Alison's heart. When she had seen Emily back in Rosewood the brunette had seemed broken, it was as if she had given up and was a fraction of her former self. But now as Alison looked deep into the brown eyes before her she could see that the spark within them had reignited and her mermaid was surfacing once more.

The two of them spent at least an hour just walking around the deck and pointing to different things they could see out in the distance, such as the cute couple giving each other piggybacks down the road or the little boutiques that were lit up and still open for business. The tourism industry keeping the city feeling lively until the late hours of the evening, the streets below bustling with tourists and locals alike.

Alison had tried to impress Emily by naming a constellation she could see in the now darkened sky. The stars were clear, bright and scattered throughout the sky above them, they were mesmerising to look at and Alison had always found a certain type of comfort from viewing them. Emily however had to go one better than the blonde and impressively named another three constellations before chuckling at the pout Alison was now pulling. Alison didn't like to lose but Emily had always been competitive, it had made her excel in swimming back at high school and she had aced every test the army had put her in for since joining.

Emily would normally have given in to Alison with ease but when it came to games such as these she couldn't quite resist showing off a little. Alison scoured the sky and the back of her mind trying to remember any other constellation that was within their sight but her stomach then rumbled interrupting the start of the star gazing competition. It was a well needed distraction and notified them both that Alison was in fact rather hungry and Emily giggled lightly at the sound.

"Did you want to get food here or go somewhere else?" Emily asked as they turned away from the viewing window and made their way slowly towards the elevators, Alison was a little reluctant to leave the Eiffel Tower but her hunger was becoming more apparent now that she was focused on it.

"I saw a cute little restaurant off of the main streets when I was walking to meet you earlier, how about we try there?" Alison replied after thinking for several long seconds. She turned to Emily who nodded in acceptance before she linked their hands together once more and got slightly excited about their dinner date.

"I was meaning to ask you, how did you know where I would be?" Emily questioned, it had been bugging her since Alison had snuck up beside her but she hadn't wanted to ruin their Eiffel Tower experience so had pushed it to the back of her mind until now.

"Umm... I just hoped you'd be there if I'm being honest. I figured out it was probably the first time you'd have to yourself since landing and I just hoped it was the first thing on your list of sights to see" Alison replied with a slight chuckle, she hadn't really come up with any other plan so if Emily had not of been there then she would have been royally screwed.

"And if I wasn't there?" Emily probed further, wanting to know everything that had led Alison to this point.

"Again I'm not really sure, I probably would have just stayed camped out here for the next few days hoping to see you or until Caleb got a hit on his laptop of where you were" Alison had a blush forming on her cheeks, her lack of a plan was endearing to Emily.

"That's cute" Emily replied simply before a peaceful silence fell over them once more and they walked through the streets as they headed towards the restaurant Alison had mentioned.

The roads were still busy with activity as tourists wandered in and out of small boutiques and other various shops that filled the various buildings they were walking past. They took their time and enjoyed each other's company, making occasional small talk as they took in everything around them. They were in no particular rush to get to the restaurant all be it Alison's stomach was definitely disagreeing, the noises it was making becoming more regular and louder with every passing minute.

Alison pulled Emily gently by the arm and led her inside of a small tourist shop upon where she scanned the shelves for several minutes before grabbing what she was looking for and heading to the cashier to make her purchase. Emily laughed out loud once they had left the shop as Alison unwrapped what she had bought and proceeded to put it on.

"Now we both look like tourists" Alison said with a wink before heading down the street in search of the restaurant once more.

Emily was watching the blonde with amusement before realising how far away she had actually gotten and she had to jog slightly to catch her up. She eyed up Alison's choice of t shirt, it suited her that was for sure and it fit well in all the right places. The black t shirt contrasted with Emilys white one but the image of the Eiffel Tower really stood out with it being drawn in a silver outline. There was no text either making it simplistic but classy, Emily thought it went well with her own and now they looked like a proper couple on holiday.

As they approached the restaurant a server was quick to greet them and show them to a table. They were seated in a small booth towards the back and the dim lighting and smooth music made the setting rather romantic, both girls noticed this fact but neither made a comment to the other.

Alison couldn't decide between two of the dishes on the menu so Emily had politely offered to order the one Alison didn't so she could try them both. Alison blushed slightly at the gesture, it always amazed her how often Emily put others before herself. They both ordered a glass of wine to accompany their meal and relaxed in each other's company.

Their food was delightful and although tempted by the dessert menu both women resisted due to the fact they were already full from the main courses they had just eaten. They sat talking to one another for almost an hour after they had finished eating, neither one caring about how late in the day it actually was.

"So where are you staying?" Emily asked as they left the restaurant, hand in hand once more.

"I haven't actually booked in anywhere" Alison sheepishly replied, she had been hoping that should she find Emily then that would provide her with a place to stay.

"I guess it's a good job I booked a room with a king size bed then isn't it?" Emily said with a lopsided grin as she looked toward the blonde who just nodded in return.

Emily led the way back to her hotel, it was only a few streets over from the restaurant and they soon made their way inside of her room. Alison gasped at the view and bounded over to the window to look at the Eiffel Tower yet again. It didn't seem to matter how many times she had seen it that day, each time she looked at it she became breathless and that also happened when she looked at another beauty.

Emily had drawn back the duvet ready for them to climb under and was currently rummaging through her drawers as she tried to find something for Alison to sleep in. The blonde had not packed anything apart from her passport as she wanted to get on the first possible flight to Paris once she had made the spontaneous decision to search for Emily. With Arias help she had made it to the airport just in time and as she had suspected they hadn't found Jenna when they had visited the Brew.

Emily threw over a random blue t shirt which happened to be an old Rosedale Sharks one, Alison smiled as she picked it up. She brought it close to her face ready to put over her head and couldn't help but notice it still smelled faintly of chlorine. Emily being the polite girl she was had her back turned whilst Alison got undressed and put the t shirt on, she was handed a pair of shorts moments later by Emily who had her arm put behind her, still refusing to turn around.

"Tell me when it's ok for me to turn around" Emily said quietly as she quickly removed all of her own clothes ready to put her pair of shorts and t shirt on.

Alison found it cute how the brunette was acting all shy once again and snuck up behind her whilst Emily was still naked. Wrapping her arms around Emilys toned body she whispered seductively in the tanned girls ear.

"You can turn around"

Emily stood completely still, unsure of how to go about this situation she now found herself in. On the one hand she had waited her entire life to be stood in this close proximity to Alison whilst unclothed but on the other hand with everything going on and still being no where near unveiling who A was it really wasn't the right time. But when would it ever be the right time?

With that last thought in her head Emily decided she would take control of the situation Alison had created. She turned around in one swift movement before grabbing Alison by the hips and walking her backwards until the blondes legs hit the bed. A surprised moan left Alison's mouth as she was pushed back onto the bed, Emily hovering above her with a seductive look on her face.

Alison's pupils darkened in anticipation of what was about to happen and as Emily leant down and started to place soft kisses down her neck the blonde smiled with contentedness. Emily then wasted no time in removing Alison's t shirt, the blonde arching her back off of the bed momentarily whilst the offending garment was removed, before returning to the trail of kisses she was placing steadily lower down Alisons body.

Emilys lips grazed Alison's nipples and they hardened upon contact, it was no longer a secret how aroused Emily was making her and it had been a long time coming. A night at Alison's had almost led them to this point however after making out heavily Alison had run from her feelings once more and abruptly turned over and pretended to fall asleep. The quiet disappointed sigh that had left Emilys lips hadn't gotten past Alison but the blonde had chosen to ignore it, even though deep down inside of her she hated herself for how she was treating Emily. She knew it wasn't right to continue leading her on and then dropping her without warning, it just happened to be too late when Alison was ready to face her fears.

But now in this moment Alison couldn't even figure out what she had been so scared about, everything that was happening felt so right and she knew that it was because Emily was the one doing those things to her. No one else could make her heart flutter like the tanned goddess above her could.

Emily teased Alison's nipple with her tongue, swirling around it in different directions whilst her right hand held her up and her left made sure the blondes other breast didn't feel left out. The combination of feelings Alison was experiencing made her wonder if she was even going to last that much longer, she had a heat pooling between her legs and the need for friction in that certain area was becoming overwhelming. Her hips bucked slightly in response to Emilys ministrations and in turn Emily ground her own hips against Alison's.

Alison's nails scratched lightly across the tanned skin of Emilys back, digging in slightly deeper when Emily hit a particular sensitive spot with her tongue.

"Stop teasing" Alison moaned out, she needed to have Emily fully before she came undone prematurely.

Emily complied to Alison's demand and lowered her trail of kisses down Alison's stomach, stopping for several elongated seconds at both of her hip bones as it was rather amusing to watch the pale body twitch under the gently ghosting of her lips.

Wanting their first time to be a memorable experience for both of them Emily was determined to do everything in her power to pleasure Alison and therefore as her hands trailed lightly down the blondes sides before sliding under her body and securely gripping her ass Emily swiped her tongue through Alison's glistening folds.

The action took Alison by surprise and she let out a small yelp of pleasure before Emily did the same motion again but this time a lot slower and harder. Alison was amazed at how good her mermaid was with her tongue but knew that the competitive nature of Emily meant she would do anything to make sure Alison had the best experience possible. The blonde was already knew this was better than any other time she had been sexually involved with someone but her thoughts didn't linger on that fact and instead concentrated on the tanned goddess who was going down on her.

"Emily!" Alison cried out several times in pure ecstasy as she felt the pressure building within and her body begin to tense up.

Emily wasn't ready for Alison to come undone before her just yet and so stopped teasing the swollen clitoris with her tongue and slowly entered Alison with one finger. As she began to move in and out of the blonde slowly, allowing for Alison to adjust to the feeling, Emily made her way back up her body and passionately kissed her on the lips.

Their kiss quickly became messy, tongue and teeth clashing together as they fought for dominance and Alison tried to focus on the heated kiss as well as the feeling of Emily being inside of her. Alison gave up as soon as Emily entered a second finger and began to put more force into her movements. The brunettes fingers curled inside the blonde and found her g spot with ease, Emily was definitely talented when it came to sex.

Alison's breathing was erratic and they were both covered in a thin layer of sweat that made them sick slightly to one another. Emily was leaning her body lightly on top of Alison, not wanting to allow her full weight to go on to the smaller girl.

Emily added her thumb to the mix and circled Alison's clit with it as she still pumped her fingers in and out of her. It became too much for Alison and soon her body began to shake slightly in excitement before she tensed up beneath the brunette and then released herself all over Emilys fingers. Emily slowed down her movements and allowed the blonde to ride out her high before placing two loving pecks to her lips.

They both had wide smiles on their faces and Alison couldn't help the blush that had appeared on her face. She thought about burying her face into Emilys neck but as she moved towards that position she suddenly became full of confidence and instead flipped Emily over so she was now led where Alison had been a couple of seconds prior. Her famous DiLaurentis smirk appeared on her face as she straddled the still heavy breathing brunette beneath her.

"My turn" she said seductively before lowering her mouth to Emilys neck and nipping gently at the skin, she then began to suck and made sure to leave a clear mark. She wanted everyone to know that Emily was taken. Alison had never been with another woman before and was slightly nervous but she didn't show it and decided to just try and copy what Emily had done.

Alison ran her fingers down Emilys toned stomach and went over every single ab with a featherlight touch. The feeling sent goosebumps across Emilys body and her eyes had darkened with desire, she looked at Alison in a way that no one else ever could. There was so much love and respect between them even after all these years.

"Ali you don't have to do anything" Emily said quietly as their eyes connected momentarily.

Alison thought it was adorable how even after everything that had just happened between them Emily was concerned with how fast they were moving and wanted to confirm that Alison was completely sure about what they were doing. Emilys compassion and thoughtfulness was some of the many things that had made Alison fall in love with the tanned goddess. Alison smiled in response to Emilys words before speaking herself.

"Emily I want to do this." She stated before running her fingers up Emilys inner thighs and grazing her centre. It left Emily unable to think about the conversation anymore and she just relaxed into her pillow as she anticipated what Alison was going to do to her.

The blonde did not disappoint as she tightly gripped Emily's inner thighs and spread them apart so that she could settle in between them. She then looked Emily directly in the eye before winking and she then placed a kiss upon her centre. That kiss soon turned into gentle caressing with her tongue and the occasional suck and Emily had no choice but to tightly grip the bedsheets in both hands as the pleasure coursed through her body.

Considering this was Alison's first time Emily couldn't believe how talented the blondes

tongue was, she could definitely get used to the feeling of Alison playing with her sensitive area. Alison continued to use her tongue as she gently slipped one finger inside of her mermaid, she was pleased at how wet Emily was for her and it made it a lot easier than she thought it was going to be to enter her.

"Oh god! Ali, don't stop!" Emily cried out at the combined feeling and her body had already begun to tremble. She had waited for this moment since high school and now that it was actually happening she could barely contain herself.

Alison quickened her pace with her tongue and was amazed at how nice Emily tasted, it had been a slight concern of hers before getting to this part but now she couldn't get enough. She removed her finger and Emily moaned at the loss of contact but it was quickly replaced by the blondes tongue. Alison pushed it as deep inside Emily as she possibly could and kept her movements quick but forceful.

It was too much for Emily and she cried out with pleasure as she released in Alison's mouth, it didn't stop Alison's actions however and the blonde just carried on at the same pace as before. Emilys hands were now gripped in blonde hair, holding it tightly within her grasp as she tried to come down but it was impossible with Alison not stopping. She felt the build up inside her once more but managed to contain it as Alison moved swiftly back up the tanned girls body.

Alison held both of Emilys hands above the brunettes head and kept them pinned against the mattress. Although she loved the feeling of Emilys hands roaming her body she much preferred the dominant approach. She entered Emily with two fingers and the brunette gasped at the unexpected action, the gasp soon turned to moans once more as Alison moved within her.

Learning from Emily the blonde curled her fingers and eventually managed to find what she had been searching for. She knew she was in the right place because a string of curse words fell from the normally polite girls mouth and Alison couldn't help but grin at the effect she had on Emily.

It didn't take many more strokes before Emily came undone once again and Alison collapsed on top of the tanned girl as they both tried to catch their breath. Alison kept her fingers inside of Emily for a few more seconds as she helped her come down before she removed them and sucked them clean much to Emilys shock. God Alison was such a turn on she thought to herself.

"That was incredible" Alison husked out and Emily smiled in reply before capturing the blondes lips in her own for several seconds and then quietly wishing her goodnight.

They fell asleep almost instantly as they embraced with one another, both completely happy with how the day had turned out and more so with how the evening had ended.

Alison woke up feeling completely refreshed, even after last nights strenuous activities she had gotten a decent nights sleep and it was all down to the brunette underneath her. Alison had her head on Emilys chest and an arm draped over her stomach whilst pale legs were intertwined with tanned ones. To many people the position may look uncomfortable but to Alison it was heavenly. There was no better feeling than waking up with her mermaids arms wrapped tightly around her, as if she never wanted to let her go.

It wasn't long before Emily also awoke and found Alison staring up at her from where she lay.

"Enjoying the view?" Emily asked with a chuckle before removing her arms from around Alison and stretching them out above her head.

Alison just nodded in answer before lifting her head slightly in Emilys direction, the brunette got the hint instantly and leant down to meet the blonde half way upon where they shared a short but sweet morning kiss. It was only a couple of pecks but it was more than enough to put Alison in a good mood for the rest of the day or so she thought until she felt Emily shifting underneath her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Alison groaned out as she was carefully moved off of Emilys body and back on to the mattress.

"For a run, I'll be back before you know it" Emily responded as she sat on the edge of the bed, stretching once more, before standing up and heading towards the closet.

Alison smiled at the view before her as she got comfy once again and pulled the duvet tightly around her. She had never been a morning person and even when her and Emily had had sleepovers years ago she would be left dozing in bed whilst the brunette went for an early morning run. Emily would always return and slide back into bed for a little while longer until Alison fully woke up and she knew you must never rush Alison to get out of bed. The blondes mood for the entire day could often depend on her leaving the confines of her bed when she decided it was the right time.

Alison stayed in bed for almost an hour before deciding she should have a shower and start to get ready so that her and Emily could go out for breakfast together, she wasn't in the mood for hotel food and was quite intrigued by the thought of a nice French breakfast at a nearby cafe or restaurant. Alison had expected Emily to be back by the time she had finished up in the shower, however as she reentered the bedroom she was disappointed at the lack of her mermaid.

Had it not been for the fact that all of Emilys belongings were still scattered throughout the bedroom and bathroom Alison would have been sceptical about the brunettes whereabouts and would definitely been concerned that she had done another runner. With the towel still wrapped around her body and her wet hair trailing down her back, Alison made her way over to the window excited to see the fantastic view once again and in the daylight this time.

She was shocked to say the least when she looked down at the street below and saw Emily engrossed in a conversation with none other than Mona Vanderwaal. She had no idea what the two were discussing but whatever it was had must have been pretty heated. Alison could make out Emilys clenched fists and look of annoyance however Mona seemed as cool and collected as normal.

As she watched from above she jumped slightly and wondered if she should duck out of sight when Mona raised her head and looked directly at her, realising that it was far too late to do anything as she had in fact been spotted she instead raised her eyebrow disconcertingly at the shorter brunette. Mona replied in her typical way by putting on an exaggerated smile and waving in her direction which in turn caused Emily to look up at the window as well.

Only seconds later Emily seemingly bid farewell to Mona and glanced back up at Alison who stood still watching from above before she made her way into the hotel and up to her room. She took a deep breath before she entered, unsure of how this next conversation with the blonde would proceed. Alison had however been the one to suggest they not talk about anything relating to A so maybe she would let it slide for now.

"Why in the world are you meeting with Mona?!" Alison asked, her voice slightly raised as she spoke.

Or maybe she won't let it slide Emily thought as she shut the door behind her and made her way to where Alison was standing now fully clothed having ditched the towel quickly and dressed herself before the brunette made her entrance. The blondes hands were on her hips and her head was tilted slightly to the side showing Emily that she definitely expected an answer and a truthful one at that.

 **A/N**

 **Sorry about the wait guys, I try and get these chapter written as fast as possible but there comes days when no matter how hard I try I just can't focus. I don't want to write just anything down so I have to accept that those days I need to leave it and come back to it later.**

 **Smut, smut and more smut, hope you enjoyed that part and I did it justice. I thought it was about time they both just acted on their feelings rather than listen to their hearts.**

 **As always, leave a review or suggestion for me to read. Follow me on tumblr: itskindaobvious**

 **And until next time bye :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Alison sat alone on the hotel bed with her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She had been in that same position for the last hour, unable to move and not sure what she would do even if she could move. Emily had left after their conversation about Mona and Alison was wondering how long it would be until she returned. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and she didn't even attempt to wipe it away, too lost in her own mind.

She had wanted their time in Paris to just be about them, no one else and definitely not A. But she was being naive, the whole reason Emily had come to Paris was to look for answers and Alison should not have been surprised that Emily had tracked someone down who could help her. What was slightly surprising was the fact that Emily had asked Mona for help.

The door to the hotel room opened breaking Alison out of her thoughts and she looked up from where she sat to see Emily shuffle inside, juggling in her hands a bag which appeared to contain some sort of food, two drinks in a drink holder and the hotel door key whilst trying to shut the door behind her. Alison started to rise from the bed in an attempt to help but Emily stopped her, telling her she could handle it but even as she spoke she almost spilt the drinks and swore quietly under her breath.

The brunette finally closed the door and kicked off her shoes before making her way over to the bed and passing Alison the bag whilst placing the drinks on one of the bedside tables. The blonde had a small smile on her face as she opened up the bag to look at the contents inside and was happily surprised by the croissants she found. Her stomach rumbled at the same time and Emily let out a soft laugh.

"Good job I came back when I did" Emily said with a smile.

Alison just nodded, still not one hundred percent back to her usual self. Everything was weighing down on her and seeing Mona earlier that morning only reminded her that she was next on A's list. It had taken all they had as a group to fight A the first time but now it seemed this A was determined to separate them and had almost managed to do so. However they were back working as one again, well apart from Emily but it shouldn't take too much to persuade her to rejoin forces with them all.

"Em, about earlier..." Alison started but was abruptly cut off.

"Alison don't." There was a finality in Emilys voice that Alison hadn't heard before and she decided for once to back down.

Alison nodded towards the brunette and instead pulled out a croissant and took a bite as she passed the bag to Emily. Emily looked regretful for the way she had spoken to Alison but decided to leave it as it was for now. After arguing with Mona at the start of the morning and then having a rather heated conversation straight after with Alison the last thing she wanted was to spend the last part arguing once more with Alison.

They sat in relative silence enjoying their breakfast, Alison was crossed legged on the bed whilst Emily took more of a relaxed stance as she led down on one side, leaning on one arm to keep herself upright. Alison had asked Emily to pass her a drink when she was halfway through her food but other than that had kept quiet. Emily had mentioned that the weather was nice outside but trailed off when she realised the blonde beside her had zoned out and wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to what she was saying.

Emily decided to switch tactic to gain Alison's attention, she didn't want the rest of their stay to be overshadowed by A and so she decided to try and bring Alison back around. Running her hand lightly across the skin on Alison's leg she witnessed the goosebumps rise quickly and it brought a smile to her face. Alison however was still zoned out and so Emily moved her fingers further up the blondes leg, in doing so she had unintentionally shifted her own body closer.

With the attention she was giving Alison still going unnoticed Emily slowly raised herself up and basically climbed up the blonde until they were face to face.

"Ali..." Emily husked out as she brushed her lips against Alison's.

Finally Alison shifted her focus and almost jumped as she realised how close to her Emily was. Instead she brought her own hand up and cupped Emilys face before allowing the brunette to connect their lips once more and indulging herself in the sensation. The kiss soon turned from innocent little pecks to messy open mouthed kisses. Both of them wanting to apologise for their earlier actions without using words.

As their makeover session started to get very heated Alison put her hand gently on Emilys chest and pushed her back slightly. Emily disconnected her lips and looked at Alison slightly perplexed, her head tilted to one side as she awaited an answer to her unspoken question.

"Aren't we meant to be spending the day in the city?" Alison asked quietly, worried that Emily would be upset with her for stopping the inevitable.

"Yeah, you're right. We need to make the most of it before we have to return to Rosewood" Emily replied and Alison was pleasantly surprised at her reaction.

Emily gathered up the empty cups and the bag the croissants had been in before getting up off of the bed and walking over to the bin to dispose of the rubbish. She then walked back over to the bed and held her hand out for Alison to take. The blonde was quick to accept and was easily pulled to her feet and into Emilys strong embrace. The brunette had always had an athletic build thanks to the amount of swimming she had done in high school but the army had required a lot more physical strength and her muscles were bigger and more defined than ever.

Alison revelled in the feeling of being held tightly in those arms, it was a feeling she could get lost in for hours at a time but they had a city to explore and so Alison took several steps towards the door before holding her hand out and Emily quickly took it in her own and interlinked their fingers.

They spent the next couple of hours strolling throughout the streets, pottering about whilst enjoying the warm weather. Alison kept dragging Emily into all of the clothes shops that they passed and it wasn't long before the brunette was carrying several large shopping bags in each hand. Emily was determined to allow Alison to do as she wished but was mere seconds away from making a complaint should the blonde walk into yet another shop.

Alison however had noticed how bored Emily had become and had decided to see how long it would take the brunette to comment. She was quite amazed with how well Emily was putting on an act, complimenting every outfit that the blonde tried on even when she was deliberately choosing awful items of clothing such as a lime green t shirt with a horrid pattern upon it.

Alison had in fact entered yet another shop and Emily had somehow managed to keep quiet, that was probably down to the fact that Alison had promised it would be the last one and they could drop the bags of purchases at the hotel before venturing back out for something to eat. As Emily sat down in one of the chairs outside the changing room that Alison currently occupied she heard her phone alert her that she had received a text message.

After several failed attempts to retrieve her phone from her pocket Emily eventually gave in to the fact she would have to release the handles to the shopping bags, having not wanted to let them go for fear she couldn't pick them all back up again. She had got it down to a fine art but the need to know who had sent the message got the better of her and so she released the bags on the floor either side of her chair and finally managed to get her phone out of her pocket.

Hoping it was Mona with some useful information Emily had been surprisingly calm until she saw that it was an unsaved number. It may have been four years since she had been in A's sights but that didn't mean she still didn't get the same chills that ran through her body as she had back then. In fact having witnessed her friend's face the unknown stalker over the previous years meant her fear was at an all time high, especially knowing it would soon be Alison's turn.

'Twenty four hours to return Alison home or else - A'

Emilys heart dropped as she reread the message. Two days they had been able to enjoy themselves for in Paris, two days was not enough time for them by a long shot however A was yet again proving they were still the one in charge.

Alison had stepped out of the dressing room wearing the top she had picked out but Emilys focus was still on her phone and she hadn't even noticed the blondes presence. Alison soon became worried when she saw the expression on Emilys face and with the brunette holding her phone in her hand Alison immediately jumped to the correct conclusion.

"What did A message?" Alison asked, her voice quiet as she took in Emilys overall appearance, the worry radiated off of her.

Emily snapped back to the room and looked directly at Alison who was hovering just outside the entrance of the dressing room. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Alison but knew she had to, it didn't matter what she wanted at the end of the day.

"I have to get you back to Rosewood within twenty four hours" Emily muttered, if Alison hadn't been concentrating on the brunette then she would have missed what she had said.

"Ok, we'll book a flight for first thing" Alison responded before turning back to reenter the changing room.

"Tomorrow? Alison we should leave on the next flight" Emily protested as she made one swift movement up out of her chair and towards the blonde.

Alison turned back to face the brunette who was now stood right next to her and put her hand gently against Emilys chest before sighing slightly and responding.

"A is not taking this last day in Paris away from us Em, we are going to drop these bags off, find somewhere nice for lunch before deciding how to spend our last evening" Alison said it with such finality that Emily knew it would be pointless to argue.

Emily nodded in agreement before leaning in and giving Alison a quick peck on the lips and then resuming her position in the chair as Alison drew the curtain across in order to get dressed back into her own top.

"That top looked good on you by the way" Emily called out before focusing back on her phone and sending Mona a text to bring her up to date.

They had quickly walked back in the direction of the hotel with the intention of nipping inside to put away the many bags of shopping Alison had however as they neared the grand building a figure dressed in black stepped out in front of them before beckoning them into the alley.

"Seriously Mona? Why do you have to dress like A did? It's making you stand out more, dressed in black on a sunny day like today" Alison spat out as the figure had literally grabbed her and forced her into the alley after she refused to take a step.

"Black is a good colour on me" Mona replied as she span slightly from side to side as if showing off her clothes.

"I thought we agreed to talk over text!" Emily snapped at the shorter brunette, not happy with their second interruption of the day.

"Yes but seeing as A now knows both you and Alison are out of the country then we can guess they're tracking one of your phones. Also the fact that they managed to message your phone Emily means they have found your number and that in itself is very worrying. Your phone is meant to be untraceable" Mona ranted to the two of them.

Emily hung her head slightly as the truth began to hit her. They had been found, she had managed almost five years at being untraceable and all it took was Alison being around for her to be found by A. She had let her defences slip which right now was definitely a bad thing as she was putting the blonde in more danger than she would have been should she had stayed away. She wanted to apologise to Alison but knew their conversation with Mona took importance right then, they needed to come up with a plan and fast.

"They must have traced my phone, I didn't even think about that before I jumped on the plane. I didn't really think of much..." Alison trailed off as she felt guiltier by the second for allowing A to track them down.

"It's ok Ali, it's about time I came out of hiding and faced A head on" Emily replied as she took the blonde by the hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

"We don't have time for this." Mona cut in and instantly received an eye roll from the other two girls. "You two need to return to Rosewood and talk to the rest of the group, Emily you need to tell them everything so that they know what we're dealing with" Mona continued but her statement about Emily gained Alison's full attention and she eyed up the taller brunette knowing now there was definitely something she wasn't telling her. Something big.

"You're right, we proved time after time back in high school that we are stronger as a group. Trying to do this by myself obviously hasn't worked seeing as all the others had to face A and I couldn't stop them from being targeted" Emily solemnly replied.

"I agree but for now you need to keep my involvement to yourselves, A probably knows I'm working with you but until they clarify we'll act as if they don't" Mona stated as she waited for both of the women in front of her to agree.

An hour after they had spoken to Mona, Alison and Emily were freshened up and on the look out for somewhere to eat. Alison had changed her clothes upon arriving back at the hotel and had picked out one of the new tops she had bought earlier that matched the skirt she was wearing. It was the top that Emily had said suited the blonde and it was rather classy, not that her other clothes weren't but this top in particular stood out.

Emily hadn't been able to tear her eyes away when the blonde had exited the bathroom all spruced up, the top was rather low cut and really accentuated Alison's curves. Alison had made several attempts to gain Emilys full attention and finally had to remind her that her eyes were not where she was staring.

"What are you in the mood for?" Alison asked as they passed several restaurants that Emily had basically turned her nose up at.

"Pizza" Emily simply said as they continued to walk in an unknown direction.

"We're in France not Italy Em" Alison replied with a chuckle but she knew full well how much of a pizza lover the brunette was and that they were now going to have to track down somewhere that served the type of pizza she liked.

They luckily didn't have to walk far before Emilys face lit up at the sight of a 'pizzeria' sign hanging above the window of a near by restaurant. She basically dragged Alison across the street before heading inside and waited to be seated whilst she bounced on the balls of her feet. It was hard to distinguish who got more excited over food, Emily or Hanna.

A waiter quickly seated them and took a drink order before hurrying over to the bar and allowing them to browse the menus that had been placed in front of either of them. Alison had persuaded Emily to try and relax and so hey both had ordered a glass of wine before contemplating about the food choice they would make.

Emily decided on the Texas BBQ style pizza, chicken, onions and peppers with a bbq sauce. She was a big fan of bbq sauce but the group often ended up sharing between them and no one else seemed to enjoy it therefore she never really ordered it. Alison went for the Hawaiian much to Emilys disgust, she even went into a mini rant giving several different reasons as to why pineapple should never be allowed on top of a pizza. The table next to them had chuckled as they heard the conversation between the two women especially when Alison tried to defend her choice but it was to no avail. She even offered to change her choice to please Emily but the brunette wouldn't allow it and told her to be happy and enjoy her pizza but not to expect any more kisses until she had brushed her teeth.

That small threat had lasted no longer than thirty seconds after Alison's first bite into her slice she had picked up. She had caught Emily off guard and planted a kiss on her lips which the brunette then deepened before being hit by the taste of pineapple and letting out a disgusted groan in response. Alison had just laughed at her, enjoying the lighthearted atmosphere that was going on between the two of them. So much had changed within the two days they had spent together.

Although it wouldn't be a lie if she said she was nervous about how Emily was going to act towards her when they returned to Rosewood the next day. Would she carry on with this carefree attitude and love of public affection or would she act cold towards her and as if they hadn't just spent what could basically be counted as a romantic getaway together.

"Ali..." Emily tried to talk but the words got stuck in her mouth.

Alison glanced up and made eye contact with her as she waited patiently for her to continue talking.

"What are we?" Emily finally finished what she was trying to say and it was as if she had read Alison's mind only seconds before and knew what she had been thinking about.

Alison was slightly shocked that it was the brunette who was the one bringing up this conversation. She had thought it would have been her and that she would have to pry an answer out of the tanned girl who currently sat in front of her. Alison soon realised she hadn't answered Emily as the silence lingered and the brunette had now hung her head low, a disappointed look on her face thinking she had said something she shouldn't. Alison quickly tried to reassure her by grabbing her hand in her own from across the table before smiling gently.

"I'm not sure Em, I think we need to get to the bottom of who A is before we make any big decisions. That's going to require our full attention and you kind of have this effect on me that rather distracting" Alison openly admitted as a slight blush started to creep up her neck.

Emily smiled and her eyes lit up at the admission, those brown eyes could never hide Emilys true emotions and Alison knew exactly how to read them. Sure it wasn't exactly the answer Emily was looking for but in reality it was definitely the sensible answer. They had not seen each other in almost five years and although these past two days it had seemed like they had fallen back into their old ways only time would tell if either of them had changed beyond recognition.

The waiter interrupted the serene moment they were having by asking if everything was ok with their food and if they would like their drinks refilled. As Emily snapped back to reality she ordered another drink for both of them before picking up another slice of her pizza and holding it out for Alison to try.

Emily had booked their flights as soon as they had entered the hotel room, they were on the first flight of the morning much to her worry. Alison didn't seem that bothered but they wouldn't be back to America within the time limit and Emily was sure that would provoke retaliation from A. Twenty four hours seemed like a long time but when it came down to it they definitely should have booked a flight for that evening. Alison however was determined to enjoy one last night in Paris with her mermaid.

It was decided that they would visit the Louvre once they had finished in the restaurant, another must see in Paris. Alison in particular was excited to see all the art work it had to offer and whatever made Alison happy in return made Emily happy. The brunette was quite intrigued to see the Mona Lisa in person however and it would be a nice way to spend the last part of the afternoon before finding something to occupy them in the evening. If Emily could get her way then they would spend the rest of the evening back at their hotel room getting lost in one another.

The Louvre actually took Emily by surprise and she found herself enjoying the art museum a lot more than she had initially thought she would. Seeing Alison so enthralled in the pieces of art brought a smile to her face and she was quite happy to just follow the blonde around and take it all in at her own pace.

They walked hand in hand around the museum oblivious to everyone else who was their, they were wrapped up in their own little world and it almost made them forget about the threat of A. Almost. The notorious stalker proved once again that they could never escape their watchful eye and it was Alison's turn to receive a threatening message. Her phone went off at the exact time they stopped in front of the Mona Lisa, Alison had barely begun to take in the majestic painting before she was searching around in her handbag for her phone.

Emily laughed slightly at the blondes struggle, she kept her phone in the pocket of her jeans where it was easily accessible. That laugh came to an abrupt stop when she saw the distraught look on Alison's face and the blonde held her phone out for Emily to read.

"Tick tock. Better return home soon or else Lisa won't be the only dead Mona."

Alison normally wouldn't be that bothered by a threat against Mona, having never really been close to the girl. However knowing that Mona was willingly putting herself at risk to help save her from having to face A had meant she now had a lot more respect for the woman and definitely wouldn't wish her dead.

Emily was instantly on her phone sending a warning to Mona, letting her know that she had been compromised and would need to take extra precautions when investigating A. Emily was really starting to get annoyed by the lack of information they had about A when A seemed to know everything about them. It was rather alarming and the sooner they started figuring things out the better.

Mona replied saying she would be in contact but it wouldn't be for a while, there was things she needed to do and she had to go off the grid to do them. Emily wasn't worried about her, she knew Mona could handle herself, it was Alison she was concerned for.

The message from A put a bit of a downer on the rest of the afternoon and even the Louvre didn't seem that brilliant anymore. Emily basically forced Alison to spend another half an hour there, determined to try and take her mind off of things and to also help the time pass by. Alison soon got her own way though and they left the building only for the blonde to suggest heading back to the hotel to watch a movie and ordering room service once they got hungry again.

The next morning they boarded the plane still half asleep, neither of them were happy with the early morning start after staying up late into the evening tiring one another out. Emily sunk into her seat besides Alison, the blonde having called shotgun on the window seat, and decided to try and get a few hours shut eye before they landed in Philadelphia.

Alison decided to put on a movie however it wasn't long before she too drifted off and she leant her head against Emilys shoulder using it as a pillow. The blonde had always found it a lot easier to fall asleep in the close comfort of the brunette although it was only recently that she would openly admit that. Emily shifted slightly in her sleep and ended up putting her arm around Alison's sleeping form and holding her close.

As they walked together up the street towards Hanna's house Emily wrapped her arm around Alison's waist and pulled her in closer. They had decided to leave Alisons car at her house after dropping off their luggage, they wanted to enjoy the last half an hour they had together in each other's company before Emily came clean to everyone and a walk would provide this. Emily then kissed the top of the blondes head as a sign of reassurance as they reached the pathway up to Hanna's front door and both of them unintentionally took a deep breath before making their way up it.

"It's going to be ok Emily, no one will judge you when you explain everything" Alison said in an attempt to calm down the brunette who was reluctantly raising her hand to knock on the door.

"I'm not so sure" Emily replied but had no time to elaborate as the door swung open to reveal a very bouncy Hanna who practically leapt into Emilys arms.

"I've missed you" Hanna squealed as she wrapped her legs around Emilys waist.

Even with the unpleasant reason for this visit Hanna was still excited to see her best friend and held a positive outlook for the time being. Emily gripped Hanna tightly as she struggled to carry her into her house and Alison followed closely behind the two.

"Hanna let go of her!" Spencer scolded as the three women entered the front room.

Hanna did as she was told but not without sticking her tongue out at Spencer and then pouting towards Emily. Emily took a seat on an unoccupied sofa and Alison slid down next to her whilst Hanna sat on the brunettes other side as close to the girl as she possibly could be.

Aria was next to Spencer and their was no sign of the boys, Emily had mentioned that she rather tell the girls separately and it would be up to them to relay the story as she wasn't sure she would be able to repeat it more than once.

Alison took Emilys hand in her own and squeezed it tightly, the action didn't go unnoticed by Hanna who went to make a comment but was shut down by the glare Spencer was giving her. The taller girl was right, this wasn't the time to bring attention to the status of Emily and Alison. They needed to know what A had put Emily through and how they were going to identify the stalker.

 **A/N**

 **Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I have the next one basically outlined in my head however needed to lead up to those events in this one but couldn't figure what to write. I only managed a couple of hundred words on some days whilst on others I couldn't think of any which isn't like me at all.**

 **I've had a lot on my mind which may have been the cause. I'm recently single (my own choice but still a hard one to make). But I did go and see Ed Sheeran perform in Manchester yesterday which was a 4 hour drive from where I live. It's definitely been a long weekend haha!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I noticed I got a lot less reviews on the last one so don't forget to tell me your thoughts or suggestions. I'm happy to read constructive criticism (even happier to read praise ;) ) Any ideas also welcome.**

 **Follow me on tumblr: itskindaobvious**

 **Until next time, goodbye :)**


	9. Chapter 9

"Fuck this... I can't, you'll think the worst of me and it will change everything" Emily snapped as she stood up and began to pace before the others, the room becoming a blur as she lost focus on everything around her and got lost in her own thoughts about what had happened.

Alison went to stand up so that she could try and calm the brunette down but was beaten to it by Hanna, the other blonde quickly moving over to the erratic girl and embracing her tightly. Hanna refused to let go even as Emily wriggled within her unrelenting grasp.

"Hanna!" Emily groaned out as she finally came to a stop and gave in, knowing her friend was almost as stubborn as she was and not having the energy to fight with her.

"We will NOT judge you for whatever A made you do Em. We stick together, that's what friends do." Hanna said as clearly as she could, trying to get her point across before Emily fled from them once again.

"She's right Emily, we will be by your side no matter what you tell us" Spencer reiterated what Hanna was trying to explain and Aria just nodded along in agreement.

Alison had stayed silent the entire time, watching the interaction between her friends and glad that even after Emily had seemingly disappeared from everyone's lives for the past five years they were still there for her through thick and thin.

"Start from the beginning" Hanna suggested softly as she let go of Emily and sat back down, the brunette was almost back to being calm once more and took her seat beside Alison before taking in a deep breath and lowering her head, her hands gripped the front of the sofa as she tried to focus on what she had to say.

Alison lovingly rubbed circles on Emilys back as they all waited patiently for her to start explaining. Her story was the worst by far but only she knew that, the others still unaware that Emily had been watching them take their turns from a distance and she had seen exactly how it had all gone down for each one of them.

She had felt bad watching from the sidelines but she couldn't let A know that she was on to them, that she was getting closer to figuring out who they were day by day. However since returning to Rosewood all her sources and knowledge had come to a standstill and she had made no major progress on the identity of their stalker. Mona was her last hope and even she had gone off the radar in an attempt to keep herself out of A's sights.

"I watched each of you take your turn with A" Emily said quietly as she reluctantly looked up to gauge their reactions.

Spencer raised an eyebrow and said nothing, Aria let out a small gasp whilst Hanna just nodded. Emily had miraculously turned up a day after the blonde had taken her turn and even though neither had said a word about it Hanna had a feeling their was more to her arrival than just spur of the moment or a coincidental break from her job. Hanna had been half way through a bottle of whiskey when the brunette had arrived and Emily had just taken the bottle out of Hanna's hand and poured the drink into two glasses before sitting besides her and wrapping an arm tightly around the blondes waist.

"So you just watched?" Spencer asked cautiously, she wasn't trying to accuse Emily of anything but she needed to know why her friend hadn't stepped in to help. She had really struggled to keep it together whilst A made her do the worst thing possible, killing another person affected you in such a significant way, you never truly went back to the person you were before the horrifying event.

"There was nothing I could do without alerting A to my presence. I needed to stay hidden if I was to have any chance of figuring out who they are." Emily stated, trying to justify herself but knowing without any real progress in her hunt for their stalker that it was all just words. "I hated seeing what you were all going through and so many times I had to stop myself stepping in" Emily almost pleaded for Spencer to believe her.

"Do you know who A is?" Spencer outright asked, she was always the one who had a need for answers especially when it involved herself.

"No" Emily solemnly replied as she wrung her hands together and lowered her head once more, missing the unsubtle glare that Alison had sent Spencer's way in an attempt to silence the taller girl.

"I'm sorry Emily" Spencer said as she realised she was asking too much of the girl, expecting her to be able to step in and figure everything out was ridiculous and she knew Emily had acted in the way she thought best at the time.

"Now we're all together again so we can figure this out" Aria piped up, ever the optimist out of the five of them. "And at least I don't have to repeat what A made me do again as you already know".

The were murmurs of agreement throughout the group and Emily looked up slightly to give Aria a grateful smile which was returned instantly by the petit brunette. Emily wasn't sure however that she could tell them the next part but there was no way that her friends would let her leave the house without explaining her role in A's game and it wouldn't be long before she was asked that dreaded question. In fact it was only mere seconds later that Hanna turned to her and spoke.

"What did A make you do Em?" The blonde reluctantly asked but she needed to know what their stalker had put her best friend through.

"They... they gave me a choice" Emily stuttered out, when she told them what she had been made to do then it would finally sink in. It would be out there in the world and she wouldn't be able to avoid what she had done.

"We won't judge" Alison said calmly beside her, making the point once more so Emily couldn't doubt the truth in their words.

Emily shifted uncomfortably where she sat as all her friends were solely focused on her, she was glad the boys weren't there as well because she wasn't sure if she could handle three more pairs of scrutinising eyes watching her. Her friends wouldn't mean to judge but it was inevitable that as soon as the words left her mouth they would make a snap judgement before reigning themselves back in and seeing it from her point of view.

"I received a note whilst I was away on tour telling me to make a choice; save one life or save many" Emily voice was quiet and it sounded like she was ashamed of what she was saying.

"A managed to find you whilst you were on tour?" Spencer asked incredulously, with Emily being part of special ops it should have been impossible for anyone to know her location at any given time apart from the squad she was a part of.

"I don't know how they did, the only person I told was Hanna and I didn't say the words out loud for fear of being found. I wrote down my location and once Hanna had seen it I had burned the note" Emily replied, she looked at Spencer as she spoke and her eyes told nothing but the truth.

"What did you choose?" Hanna asked after internally debating whether she had told anyone else of Emilys location whenever she had been told. Emily had used the same technique to tell her where she would be every time she had been deployed but Hanna knew deep down she hadn't spoken a word about it to anyone, not even Caleb. Spencer snapped her head towards the blonde instantly, slightly surprised that Hanna had even needed to ask the question.

"She chose to save the many obviously" Spencer assumed correctly, knowing how kindhearted the other brunette was she knew it would have been almost too easy a choice to make and that's what worried her the most.

"Yeah I did, A gave me the coordinates to a enemy set up that was only hours from completely bombing a children's hospital in the area. We got there in time and took them all out, we defused all the bombs that they had managed to set and no innocent people were injured" Emily said but although it was an obvious positive outcome Emilys face didn't reflect that fact.

"Who was the one person that you didn't save? A told you right?" Like usual Spencer was the one asking all the questions and the others were happy to let her, not wanting to be the ones having to interrogate Emily.

Tears slowly ran down Emily's face and she could no longer hold eye contact with Spencer. Her body began to shake and she clenched her fists tightly together, so tightly that her nails dug in and drew blood from her palms. Whoever it was that had been killed had obviously affected Emily in a serious way.

"Wait, how long ago was this? Were you the first out of us to take a turn?" Hanna asked as the pieces began to fit together slowly in her mind. She may not act smart all the time but Hanna was figuring this out a lot quicker than the others and she prayed she had got it all wrong.

Spencer looked annoyed at Hanna's interruption, wanting Emily to just tell them what happened but the look on the blondes face told her that there was something she was missing and so she waited patiently for Emily to speak.

"I was the first. Four years ago I took my turn" Emily replied in a choked out sob, the words barely audible.

"Fuck." Hanna replied as she looked solemnly towards Emily and she knew she was right. A had targeted Emily first and it was definitely the worst game they had played with any of them.

"Wait what am I missing? You know who it was?" Spencer asked Hanna as she looked between the two girls quickly, her brain going into overdrive as she tried to figure it all out.

"No." Alison suddenly gasped out and Emily jumped slightly at the volume in which she had spoken. "Tell me that A didn't make you do that" she questioned as she pulled Emilys face gently towards her.

Emily couldn't deny anything though as that was exactly what happened. The two blondes of the group had pieced it all together and now realised why Emily was hellbent on finding out who A was. Why she disappeared from everyone's lives to work in secret. The timing of Emilys turn matched another significantly hard time in her life.

"I was stood next to him when it happened. My team returned to base and he stepped outside of his office to congratulate me. The last words he said was that he was proud of me before a sniper shot him through the chest and he bled out on the floor in front of me." Emily was so close to breaking down but she had to get out the last words, she needed them all to know what A had made her do and how sick this individual really was.

She let a few seconds pass by as she recomposed herself before saying those dreaded words that would make it all actuality. It would undeniably be an inevitable part of her life that she hadn't yet admitted out loud to anyone.

"A killed my father and made it out to be my choice".

Aria and Spencer let out sounds indicating pure shock as they were finally clued in to what had happened. None of the group could believe A had taken it that far, it seemed that they had a real hatred towards Emily more so than towards the others.

"Oh Em" Alison said sympathetically as she shuffled as close as was physically possible to the brunette. She had her arm wrapped around Emilys waist and Emily had turned to bury her face in Alison's neck as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Emily was emotionally exhausted after admitting to the girls what she had been put through. As she had spoken she had relived the very moment it had all happened, from her dad standing there with a big grin that reached his eyes as he congratulated her on a job well done, to the colour and life draining from his face and body only moments later as he was splayed out on the ground in front of her. The blood from the gunshot wound poured out of him at an unstoppable rate, he had died mere seconds after hitting the ground. A fatal shot, precisely placed but it was unknown to Emily if A had in fact been the one to pull the trigger or if that had instead used one of their minions to do the dirty work.

A soldier named Paul Moore had been found with the weapon in his possession and subsequently he had been arrested for the murder of Col. Wayne Fields. Emily had doubted Paul's involvement the minute she had been notified of his arrest however all the evidence pointed towards him and so it was just something she had come to accept. The case was closed and that had become the end of it.

The brunette needed fresh air, the walls felt like they were closing in around her and so she staggered to her feet before bolting towards the front door. The door slammed into the wall behind it under the force Emily put into swinging it open making the entire house shake. Nobody else had even reacted to Emilys departure due to the sudden nature of it but it wasn't long before Alison was scrambling off the sofa herself and darting after the brunette.

"Em... Emily!" Alison called out as she stood in the doorway, panic stricken as her mermaid was no longer in sight and she had no idea which direction she had taken off in.

Hanna, Spencer and Aria reached the door not long after Alison had and they all looked out into the street with worry etched onto their faces. Emily should definitely not be alone after such a major revelation and they knew exactly who should be the one to go and comfort her.

"Alison, go find her" Hanna urged, "you'll know where she is better than we will"

Alison nodded once in response, already having a couple of ideas as to where the brunette could have run off to. She stepped out into the street and took off in the direction of her best bet, the Rosewood cemetery. With the conversation they had just had revolving majorly around Emilys father it seemed only natural that she would go to his final resting place.

By now it was early evening and yet it was still warm enough to not need to worry about having a coat on which Alison was relieved about because she hadn't even considered grabbing one as she left the house in search of Emily. But she still had her arms wrapped around herself however it was more so a source of comfort than heat, she was getting more worried with every minute that passed and Emily wasn't near her.

Hanna had called Caleb to let him know that he was ok to come back home and Spencer and Aria had left with the promise to keep an eye out for Emily as they drove. There was no use in them waiting for Emily to return, she was too worked up to help them to come up with any kind of plan at that particular moment and they decided to meet up the next day with fresh minds. There was no doubt in any of their minds that Alison would successfully find Emily and be able to calm her down and see that there was nothing she could have done to stop A. Emily and Alison had always had a connection deeper than any of the others, they knew each other better than they knew themselves.

Alison was relieved to find out her first guess as to where Emily had gone was right but her heart broke when she saw the state of the girl before her. Sat in front of her dads grave Emily had tucked her knees under her chin and hugged them tightly as tears cascaded down her face. She made no attempt to even wipe them away as she stared blankly at the headstone, the brunette hadn't even noticed Alison approach her.

Without saying a word Alison sat beside Emily and wrapped one arm around her shoulders before pulling the sobbing girl in close. They sat like that for almost an hour, neither saying a word. Emily had calmed significantly since Alison had arrived, the presence of the blonde more than enough by itself and she would thank the girl later when she felt able to. The blonde was running her hand through Emilys hair and it offered a much needed source of comfort however Emily was unsure of how she could ever feel whole again. Being the cause of her dads death and finally admitting it out loud had irrevocably changed her and she felt like a different person than she had mere hours ago.

Alison had messaged the other girls upon entering the graveyard and seeing the silhouette of Emily besides her fathers gravestone, she let them know that Emily was safe and promised to meet up with them tomorrow to try and come up with a plan. She hadn't waited for a reply before approaching Emily and knew the girls wouldn't expect one.

"I'm sorry Ali" Emily said as she finally broke the silence the two of them had been sat in, her cries finally subsiding enough to allow her to speak.

"You have nothing to apologise for" Alison replied sincerely.

"I shouldn't keep running away but I'm so used to doing it" Emily proceeded to try and explain.

"Emily we all have different coping mechanisms and you are definitely not the first of us to choose running away over facing our fears" Alison chuckled slightly at her last comment and hoped she could lighten the mood slightly.

Emily returned the chuckle even if it was rather somber before she lifted her head and faced the blonde beauty besides her. "Thank you for following me"

"I would follow you to the ends of the Earth" Alison's words were truthful and the tension between them grew once more as the admission was heard.

Emily resisted looking away and instead glanced casually between Alison's eyes and her heart shaped lips. The glances weren't missed by Alison who silently gave herself courage before leaning in and capturing the brunettes lips with her own. They got lost in each other as their kisses grew harder and messier but as the dark night drew in Alison reluctantly pulled away.

The blonde stood up and held out her hand for Emily to take and as she helped the brunette to her feet Alison gently pecked her on the lips once more.

"How about we head back to mine for the night, you look exhausted" Alison suggested to which Emily nodded in reply, the brunette took one last look at her fathers grave before following besides Alison as they headed to the blondes house, their hands still intertwined.

The darkness slowly enveloped them as they walked and Alison drew circles with her thumb on the back of Emilys hand that she was holding. They hadn't spoken a word since leaving the cemetery instead they just enjoyed one another's company and the silence between them but Alison knew if she let the silence continue for too long Emily would get sucked back into her thoughts and after earlier that definitely wasn't the best thing.

As they reached the steps that led up to Alison's house it seemed like Emily was reluctant to follow the blonde inside, she hesitated as Alison started to climb the steps creating a slight tug of their hands which didn't go unnoticed by Alison.

"Something wrong?" Alison asked as she stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder at Emily who's eyes now faced directly at the floor.

"Maybe its best if I don't come in tonight, Hanna offered me her spare room again" Emilys voice wavered as she spoke, she wanted nothing more than to follow Alison inside however the hard truth was that she would be being deployed in just over two weeks and she couldn't bare to get any closer to the blonde to then have to walk out of her life once again.

"Where's this coming from Em? I'm confused, I thought we were ok? With Paris and everything..." Alison's voice trailed off as she tried to figure out where Emily was coming from but she kept drawing a blank.

"We are ok Ali, I promise. It's just I don't think I can walk away from you once again if I get any closer to you than I am now" Emily wanted the blonde to see that this was just as hard for her to say as it was for Alison to hear but she knew it wouldn't come across that way.

"Why do you have to walk away? We're teaming up to find A and once that's done our lives can go back to normal" Alison reasoned, her voice now soft as she almost pleaded with the brunette to come inside with her.

"I have a job Ali... one that I can't leave" Emily stated, her eyes finally lifting to see Alison's blue ones staring right back at her.

That's when it hit Alison, she realised what Emily was trying to tell her without saying the exact words. It felt like a ton of bricks had landed on her heart, she wasn't sure she could handle being a military wife. Alison had the upmost respect for Pam, watching your partner leave and knowing that they may never return home was such a hard thing to do and yet she seemed to stay strong throughout each of Wayne's deployments.

"When do you deploy?" Alison asked, her voice now had a cold edge to it. Her walls were rising as she tried to protect herself from the hurt but she knew it was too late. Emily had regained her hold of Alison's heart in only a matter of days and the blonde wasn't sure if she could handle seeing her leave once more.

"Two weeks"

Alison gasped slightly as she heard the reply, she hadn't expected it to be that soon. Especially seeing as they were meant to be tracking down their psycho stalker and she was pretty sure it would take them longer than two weeks to figure out A's identity. It had been four years since Emily had begun trying to piece together everything and she still hadn't worked it out.

"I'll wait" Alison was surprised at her own words as they left her mouth, apparently her heart had decided what it wanted without consulting her head.

"I can't expect you to do that Ali" Emily sombrely replied, their hands still intertwined as the stood at different levels of the porch steps.

"I have missed out on five years of your life, five years of us. I can wait for you to return from deployment" Alison replied confidently, she wasn't letting Emily slip through her fingers this time. Not when she was so close to her now.

"I'm being deployed for nine months Alison" the usage of her full name didn't go amiss by Alison, she knew Emily was trying to show how serious she was but instead Alison focused on the positives.

"Nine months is nothing compared to a lifetime together, I'm telling you I'm willing to wait for as long as it takes. I love you Emily and I can't live another day without you."

Emily considered the blondes words for several drawn out seconds but she too ultimately decided to listen to her heart. Closing the distance between them, Emily stepped onto the same step Alison was stood on as she brought her hands to the blondes face and kissed her lips.

Alison returned the kiss immediately, her arms wrapping around the taller girls neck whilst Emilys hands drifted casually downwards until she was gripping onto the blondes ass. With a firm squeeze Alison got the hint and jumped up with her legs wrapping around Emilys waist, Emily walked up the last of the steps and made her way to the door, their kiss still unbroken and she was impressed that she hadn't tripped over yet.

Alison was too engaged in the kiss to realise they were still stood outside of the house and so Emily reached into the blondes pocket and removed the house keys before unlocking the door. They entered the house still attached to one another and the brunette kicked the door closed behind them as she headed towards the staircase which would lead them up to the blondes bedroom.

Emily led Alison down gently on the bed before slowly climbing on top and straddling the blonde between her thighs. Their kisses had become very heated and rather messy, their hands explored different areas of each others bodies and they revelled in feeling the other under their touch.

Fed up with the amount of clothes that they were still wearing Alison shuffled underneath Emily and grabbed the hem of the brunettes t shirt before pulling it upwards as high as she could. Emily quickly got the hint and helped in removing the t shirt herself once Alison could no longer reach. Emily then helped the blonde get out of her top as well before bending back down and peppering kisses down the pale skin of Alison's neck and onto her chest.

Alison's breathing got quicker as did her heartbeat and Emily smirked as she felt the blondes body reacting to her prompts. A light bite at the skin and Alison's back would rise slightly off of the bed, a lingering kiss and her nails would begin to dig into the tanned girls skin as the teasing became too much. The reactions made it all the more enjoyable for Emily, she loved pleasuring the blonde in only ways she knew how. She knew Alison's body almost as well as she knew her own.

Emily quickly discarded of her own trousers and underwear before helping the blonde out of her own. The brunettes brown eyes turning black with pure lust as the blondes breasts sprang free from her bra. Emily showed attention to both of the breasts using both her tongue and her fingers. Her tongue circling a perky bud whilst her hand caressed the other with an electrifying amount of pressure.

"Em...!" Alison moaned out as the teasing became too much for her to handle. She needed Emily to touch her in her most intimate parts and she wasn't afraid to beg for it. The bitchy queen bee that she had been throughout high school was long gone when she was in the presence of Emily Fields.

"Tell me what you need" Emily husked out as she brought her mouth within millimetres of Alison's ear. The sound of her voice sending goosebumps down Alison's body almost instantly.

"I need you" Alison replied as she tried to stifle a moan when Emilys hand ran quickly down the inside of her leg ever so close to where she really wanted to be touched.

"Where do you need me?" Emily further teased, she needed to hear the words fall from the blondes lips.

"Inside of me. Just fuck me Emily!" Alison shouted, her patience officially worn out and her libido running on high.

Emilys response was a swift finger through Alisons dripping folds, the blondes back rising off of the bed and falling back down at the feeling. She let out a moan that turned into a whimper with the loss of contact but before she could complain Emily connected their lips together in a searing kiss and began to slowly circle the blondes clit.

The lips meshed together sloppily as Emily tried to focus on what her hand was doing and Alison lost herself in the pleasure of feeling Emily on such a sensitive part. Their tongues danced with each other and Emily slipped two fingers inside of Alison with ease. The brunette kept her thumb on the blondes clit as she moved her fingers rhythmically, curling them upwards as she searched for that one spot that would push Alison completely over the edge.

It wasn't long before Emilys fingers hit the right area and as she stroked it over and over Alison's body began to shake uncontrollably with pleasure. She moaned out Emilys name along with a string of cuss words before she couldn't even get any words out. Alison closed her eyes tightly as she felt the wave of pleasure wash over her and Emily felt her tense around her fingers, helping her to ride out her orgasm and bring her back down to earth.

"Fuck" Alison whimpered as she tried to regain control of her breathing, she caught Emilys eye and the brunette was just staring lovingly towards her.

 **A/N**

 **Finally! I know you've all been waiting for me to upload this and I thank you for your patience. I hope you were pleased with the reveal, did anyone manage to guess it beforehand?**

 **Couldn't leave it on such an emotional ending so thought a bit of smut would cheer everyone up.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts with a review/comment!**

 **Follow me on tumblr: itskindaobvious**

 **And until next time :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Alison woke up the next morning feeling rather sore, but that wasn't what was bothering her. Neither was it the sun peeking through the curtains and landing directly in her eyes causing her to squint. No the thing that was bothering her was the angry sounds coming from downstairs along with the faint smell of burning.

The blonde quickly threw herself out of bed and grabbed some random clothes before heading down the stairs to see what the hell was happening. What she saw when she walked into the kitchen instantly made her burst into laughter, much to the displeasure of Emily who had been saying every swear word under the sun until Alison had made her presence known.

"It's not funny Alison." Emily muttered as she glared at the blonde.

"It kinda is..." Alison began to reply until she caught sight of Emilys now pouting face. No one was immune to Emily Fields puppy dog eyes, especially not Alison. She instantly felt sorry for the brunette who obviously had been trying to surprise her with a cooked breakfast in bed that morning. It definitely had not gone to plan though.

"How bad is the damage?" Alison queried as she glanced quickly around the kitchen, surveying the scene before her and then made her way over to where the brunette stood holding a rather black tea towel.

"I'll replace your frying pan... and your washing up bowl" Emily replied rather sheepishly, she hoped the blonde wasn't too mad at her for the destructive path she had left throughout the kitchen.

Alison raised an eyebrow at that statement before changing her direction and heading over to the sink instead. There lay what she presumed to be her washing up bowl, it was now a heap of melted plastic and on top of it was a very burned frying pan. Alison whipped back around to look at Emily in complete disbelief.

"How?" Alison questioned, not really understanding how one person could cause that much chaos whilst just attempting to make breakfast.

"I left the pan on the hob for too long with the pancake mix in... I then became slightly preoccupied. When I saw the flames I panicked and threw it in to the sink but the washing up bowl was empty and so that set on fire as well" Emily answered, she sounded completely disappointed in herself and slightly pained.

It was then Alison noticed Emily was wincing slightly whilst trying to hide her obvious discomfort from the blonde. Alison looked the tanned girl up and down as she stood in front of her before her eyes landed on the brunettes hands, one was still holding the scorched tea towel out in front of her, unsure of what to do with they destroyed item but the other was hidden behind her back in a slightly awkward way.

"What did you do to your hand?" Alison directly asked, never one to skirt around the point.

Emily avoided eye contact, her head hung low as Alison questioned her. She was embarrassed enough with the fact she had destroyed the kitchen trying to do such a menial task but injuring herself in the process just took the piss. She was a highly decorated special ops agent and she couldn't even make the girl of her dreams breakfast in bed.

"Nothings wrong with my hand Ali" Emily said but her voice had a hint of the pain she felt leaking through.

"Don't lie to me Emily." Alison put emphasis on the brunettes name as she spoke, the lack of a nickname proving she was now getting annoyed.

Two strides was all it took the blonde to close the gap between them and as she reached for Emilys hand the brunette tried to take a hesitant step backwards.

"Don't." Alison growled as she grabbed Emilys arm and pulled it out into view. "Are you fucking serious?! Why would you not tell me you had done this straight away?"

"It's not that bad Ali" Emily tried to deflate the situation but it was to no use, Alison was beyond angry now that she had seen the injury.

"Your entire hand is seriously burned, how is that not bad?! We need to go to the hospital... now!" Alison had already started heading towards the front door and although it was now a rather tense atmosphere Emily couldn't help but giggle.

Alison turned back to face Emily, her face still showing her anger but also a perplexed look, she couldn't work out why Emily was laughing when she had such a bad injury to her hand.

"Shouldn't you get dressed first?" Emily asked with a chuckle and Alison looked down at herself and realised she had grabbed a rather short pair of shorts and still hadn't attempted to brush her hair that was rather wild and messy.

Reluctantly the blonde headed up the stairs and into her bedroom to get dressed properly so that they could leave but not before telling Emily to let the others know where they were heading and that the meeting to discuss A would have to be pushed back once more. Emily had told the girls that her and Alison were otherwise engaged and would meet them later that day.

Before leaving Alison quickly googled if she could do anything to help alleviate Emilys pain or treat the burn herself. She gave the brunette two painkillers before wrapping her hand carefully in cling film. Emily had already ran her hand under the tap with cool water for a couple of minutes before the blonde had entered the kitchen and found her panicking about the mess she had created.

As they headed towards the hospital with Alison driving them, Emily had to resist reaching over and holding Alison's hand. Not because the blonde seemed annoyed with her but because it was her injured hand that was closest to Alison. She knew the blonde would not appreciate the gesture when it would cause her quite a bit of pain.

They arrived at the hospital in record time thanks to Alison's disregard to the laws of the road. After quickly parking the car they walked the short distance to the entrance together, hand in hand. Alison had apologised for snapping at the tanned girl earlier, she had just been worried because of the severity of the injury and like always Emily was quick to accept, with a small kiss to seal the deal.

By now Emilys hand was in agony but she did her best to hide the amount of pain she felt from the concerned blonde beside her, the painkillers weren't doing much to mask the pain. Once it was their turn they spoke to the receptionist and filled out all the necessary paperwork before being told to take a seat and wait until Emilys name was called. There were several other people sitting around them with injuries of all types, some major and others not actually visible. More people entered and queued as the time slowly passed before the also spoke to the receptionist and took a seat in the waiting room.

A young boy took a seat besides Alison and smiled happily up at her despite the blood pouring from his nose. Alison smiled back at the boy and his mother joined him once she had filled out his paperwork. She explained to Alison that he had broken his nose fighting with his slightly older brother, they had attempted to recreate a wrestling match and he had missed timed his jump and ended up with a nose to the face.

The young boy happily told Alison how the match had started and went on to explain who his favourite wrestlers were. Alison was rather amazed by how much of a brave face the little boy was putting on, his nose considerably swollen already and it was obviously causing him pain. Children always seemed to just brush off their injuries and be ready to go back to what they were doing quickly.

Emily looked over at Alison and it warmed her heart to see the blonde interacting with the child. Alison was definitely a natural when it came to children which had come as a surprise considering how she herself had acted when she was younger. She would definitely make a good mother one day.

Emilys phone went off as they sat in the waiting area and she struggled to retrieve it from her pocket because she was having to use her left hand to go into the right pocket. She hadn't used her phone all morning, having put it in her pocket before even starting the task of cooking pancakes. She wasn't surprised at all when she saw the message was from an unknown number.

"Play with fire and you're going to get burned. Next time follow my instructions properly." Emily read out and she looked up from her phone to gauge Alison's reaction.

The blonde surprisingly did not look mad but instead she looked incredibly guilty and put herself entirely at blame. Had she not insisted on them spending one more night in France then they would have been back in America well before the deadline was up as Emily had wanted. As the case was they had missed the deadline slightly but not really thought much about it until now. A was proving once again that they were to be taken seriously and all of them really needed to start listening.

"Ali don't do that, don't blame yourself. If I was that concerned about A's threat then I would have dragged or carried you straight to the airport. We are both at fault here for taking this too lightly and I had more reason than you did to know A would respond harshly" Emily said as she read the blondes thoughts, she knew that Alison would put this all on her own shoulders.

The blonde considered Emilys words, she was right of course but Alison was still slightly in denial. She thought it was her fault and was trying to think about how she could make it up to the brunette but then another question popped into her head.

"How did A get in? Did you leave the kitchen?" Alison then asked, confused as to how A could have possibly sabotaged Emilys attempt at cooking pancakes.

"Yeah... I... uhh..." Emily stuttered, annoyed that she had allowed A the opportunity to enter Alison's house and she had been completely unaware of it.

"Spit it out Emily" Alison snapped, she didn't want to take her anger out on the brunette but she was having a hard time controlling her emotions. A was really starting to get to her, especially as they got to Emily so easily and it was meant to be her own turn next.

"I saw a bird struggling to fly on your lawn and then this ginger cat appeared so I ran out to save the little guy. There was a nest in one of the trees so I climbed up a couple of branches and placed him in it before shooing off the cat and returning to the kitchen" Emilys head hung low as she spoke but her heartwarming story culled some of Alison's anger.

The blonde tilted Emilys head up by putting her fingers under her chin before leaning in a giving her a chaste kiss. She was beginning to see more of the sweet Emily that the brunette had been before disappearing. Emily smiled before pulling the blonde back into the kiss, the throbbing in her hand and the threat of A momentarily forgotten and she lost herself in the taste of Alison.

A nurse entered the waiting room and interrupted the intimate moment between the two women as she called Emilys name out and they followed her down the hospital hallway and into a private room where her injury would be assessed and then treated.

"You're an idiot" Hanna stated after the other three girls had been filled in on the mornings activities involving Emily and Alison.

They were sat in the Brew having decided that they could discuss A without being overheard if they sat in their usual seats that resided in the corner of the coffee shop. Also Spencer had been lacking in caffeine and was in serious need of a top up before she could contribute to any type of conversation, her body deprived of her usual fix.

"A set me up" Emily countered to Hanna's criticism.

"A didn't make you pick up a burning pan with your bare hands. Therefore you are an idiot." Hanna replied sassily, not one to miss an opportunity to wind up her friends.

"She does have a point" Spencer said whilst Alison and Aria nodded.

Hanna looked towards Spencer with the biggest grin on her face, it wasn't often the brighter one of the group agreed with anything the blonde said. Emily however groaned in defeat before giving puppy dog eyes to Alison who had not stuck up for her yet.

"I didn't have bare hands... I had the tea towel in one of them" Emily stated.

"Which also set on fire and was not in the hand you were holding the handle with." Hanna smarted back.

"You are a bit stupid for that..." Alison added as she caught Emilys eye.

"Ali..." Emily whined in response but the blonde just chuckled back at her.

"Let's get back to this plan" Spencer suggested as a way to get the focus off of Emily, she could tell her friend was rather embarrassed by her injury and the fact A managed to get one up on her with the help of a little bird.

Aria, Hanna and Spencer had been rather surprised by how brazen the other two had been in their defiance of A's request. Alison had explained that she had convinced Emily to prolong their stay in Paris and that they both hadn't really been thinking straight - literally - whilst they had been away. It had been nice to escape for a few days but now they were back and reality had hit them fast and hard.

Emily felt at a disadvantage without the use of her hand, the nurse had applied burn cream and wrapped it up securely. There was nothing more that could be done apart from rest it, but with the bandage on Emily couldn't use it even if she had wanted to. It was a serious burn but luckily would heal by itself without the need of any major medical procedures. She just hoped she wouldn't come face to face with A before it had fully healed.

"Have you heard from Mona?" Spencer asked Emily before taking a long sip from her very strong coffee.

"Not yet, she was trying to stay off of the grid so that A couldn't target her but I'm sure she's doing all she can to figure out who our stalker is" Emily replied confidently, Hanna had always been the one to trust Mona more so than the other girls but now Emily could also rely on the intelligent woman.

"It must be someone you know Emily. Probably someone that we all know but they're mainly focused on you. That task they set you was personal" Aria stated before adding "who would hate you that much?"

Emily sat and thought about Aria's question for several long seconds but as she ran through a quick list of anyone she may have upset she couldn't think of someone that would actually hate her.

"I'm not sure I've done anything to make someone hate me, not that I'm saying I haven't upset people but hate is such a strong emotion" Emily responded as she tried her hardest to think of someone.

"Almost as strong as love" Alison chuckled.

Emily smiled at Alison's comment, emotions really were amazing with how they made people act. They could completely change a persons personality and attitude; exhibit A being Alison. She used to be such a hard person, bitchy and mean but with the influence of Emilys love she had become a better person by far.

Between the group they tried to think of anyone Emily could have upset over four years ago but came up blank. There was no point trying to think of someone who would want to imitate A because once CeCe had been revealed as the stalker it had become national news therefore anyone could have decided to start up the game once more. Their main lead was definitely how personal A's attack on Emily had been but they had no idea what the motive could be.

After an hour of brainstorming and still coming up blank the group felt slightly deflated and decided to split up for the day and head to their respective homes and partners. They were heavily relying on Mona and her resources to come up with any idea as to who A could be or for A themselves to slip up but that was highly unlikely.

As Emily and Alison left the Brew a voice called out Emilys name, the brunette almost had to do a double take when she saw who had spoke. Alison excused herself rather quickly, not trusting herself to behave and told Emily to call her if she needed a lift back to the blondes later on. She knew Emily would want some time to catch up not realising that it hadn't actually been that long since the brunette had seen the girl before them.

Emily said goodbye to Alison, not surprised in the least that she didn't want to be involved in this upcoming conversation. The two girls definitely had bad blood between them and it was all down to their affection towards the brunette. Neither had been able to be civil to each other during high school and there was a slim chance adulthood had changed that.

With their relationship status still unconfirmed Emily was unsure of how to bid the blonde farewell but she decided to take the initiative and leaned in to kiss Alison quickly on the lips before turning her focus back to the girl wanting to talk to her.

"Paige, how are you?" The tanned girl asked as she headed towards her ex girlfriend.

Paige was slightly distracted by Emilys interaction with Alison but managed to quickly compose herself and respond to Emilys question.

"I'm good thanks, how about you?" Paige asked as they walked over to a nearby wooden bench that sat on the side of the pavement and took a seat.

"Yeah as good as I can be" Emily replied, she had left enough space between so as to not give the wrong idea. Emily knew full well how Paige felt about her but those feelings were no longe reciprocated.

"I'd heard rumours you were back in town, you've finally shown yourself to the girls I see" Paige commented as she shuffled closer to Emily without the brunette noticing.

"A got a little too close to home so I had no choice but to come back here" Emily said with a sigh.

Paige had gone to California to study as well and so the girls had remained close whilst Emily had been there. They would have lunch together or spend an afternoon studying seeing as they were both doing sports electives. They had never reignited their romance however but that didn't mean Paige hadn't tried. The girl was obviously still very much interested in the tanned woman.

Several times over the past 5 years they had met up, Paige always seeming to turn up in the most unlikely of places whilst Emily was keeping herself hidden from the girls. And several times over those encounters there had been lingering touches or suggestive words that Emily had ignored to the best of her ability.

She had realised pretty soon after leaving for university that Alison was the only one who held a place in her heart and therefore she didn't want to initiate anything with Paige if she wasn't one hundred percent invested. Sure she had one night stands over the years, plenty of them at that but she would never do that to Paige. They had a history between them and she didn't think it was fair to lead the girl on.

"So you and Alison?" Paige said with a suggestive tone, she needed clarification as to their relationship status.

"I'm not sure what we are but we're... close again" Emily said with lack of a better word. "A is making it hard for me to feel safe committing to her"

"It's been over four years and you still haven't figured it out? Why don't you just invoice the police or at least your unit?" Paige questioned with a hint of concern, she was confused as to why Emily was letting the situation drag on for so long.

"It's complicated, I've ran out of leads but we have someone on the inside that A doesn't know about and they're trying to figure it out. Plus you know I don't trust the authorities to help after everything that has happened previously." Emily reasoned.

Paige put her hand on Emilys as a form of consolidation as she agreed, she had been around the whole time A had been terrorising Emily and the other girls and she had seen how useless the police had been when it came to the investigation. The girls had been on there own more often than not especially when they had ended up in the dollhouse.

"How was Paris?" Paige asked as she changed the subject, A always brought back bad memories for Emily and Paige was concerned about her well being now that history seemed to be repeating itself.

Emilys head snapped towards Paige when she heard the question. Nobody had known she was out of the country let alone in Paris and she instantly went on the defence. _Could Paige be A?_ Emily tried to keep her cool but her automatic reaction had given her thoughts away, her eyes had gone wide the instant the words left Paige's mouth.

"Hanna told me when I saw her the other day, I told her I couldn't get hold of you and she mentioned that you were on holiday with Alison. I asked if you'd finally got to visit Paris with her and the look she gave me confirmed it" Paige explained as fast as she could, her hands raised in defence as she quickly realised where Emilys mind had gone.

Emily had told Paige about Paris one drunken night about two years ago, she had been ranting about the blonde whilst heavily under the influence of alcohol and that memory had been one she had recounted aloud. Paige had been kind enough to just listen to Emily talk without giving any of her opinions even though she had wanted to slag off the blonde more and more as Emily complained.

Hanna hadn't mentioned telling Paige but Emily knew it probably didn't even register with the blonde. She knew about Emily and Paige's random encounters throughout the years and she also knew that Emily trusted her ex and so she did too.

"Paris was good" Emily kept her answer short and simple, she wasn't the type of girl to rub her relationship with Alison in Paige's face. She knew that Paige was just being polite and probably didn't actually care in the slightest.

"Well I better get going, I'm in town to visit my parents for a couple of weeks so I might see you around" Paige said as she stood up from the bench. "I hope you figure everything out and let me know if you ever need my help"

Emily stood as well and bid goodbye to her ex before heading in the direction of Alison's. She knew that the blonde had offered her a lift but she honestly didn't mind the walk. A clear night was the perfect opportunity to have a peaceful walk and try and figure out if she had missed anything in her search for A so far. She racked through her mind and came up blank as she had done every time before however she couldn't shake the feeling that A was a lot closer to home than she would prefer. The seemingly personal touch with her task had made everyone focus on it being someone she herself had upset and she felt like they were on the right track with that feeling.

The walk back to Alison's took over an hour with Emily taking the very scenic route, she enjoyed being outside and definitely wasn't a stranger to exercise. She would have jogged back however she was not in the right clothing and jogging in jeans was never a comfortable idea.

It was as she entered the living room that she realised something was wrong. Alison was sat with her shoulders slumped and her head in her hands. She looked liked she'd been crying but with her face hidden Emily couldn't know for sure.

"Ali?" Emily said quietly as she made her way towards the blonde and knelt in front of her. She gently pried Alisons hands away from her face so she could look her in the eye. The girl in front of her looked broken. "What is it? What's wrong?"

But Alison couldn't talk, she had convinced herself of something that deep down she knew wasn't true but she just couldn't control her emotions. The fear of A coming after her had put her on edge but now confronted with an actual message from the stalker it hurt a lot more than she thought it would. There was no reason for her not to trust Emily but she couldn't talk sense into herself and was overreacting.

Alison pushed her phone towards Emily, not once blinking as she stared into Emilys eyes. She waited whilst Emily looked at the message on her phone and gauged the brunettes reaction. It wasn't the reaction she had expected at all.

Emily laughed quietly as she read the message before putting the phone down and focusing her attention on the blonde once more. With Alison's hands still in her own the brunette began to speak.

"Come on Ali, you don't really think anything is going on do you?" Emily asked as she tried not to smile, she felt that this was a really pathetic attempt by A to come between them.

"I don't know Emily." Alison snapped her tone instantly making Emily realise that Alison was in fact questioning her actions.

"But it's just a photo of Paige with her hand on top of mine, she was just being friendly. It meant nothing." Emily tried to reason with the blonde but it was to no avail, A had truly gotten under her skin.

"I don't know what to think Emily, you disappeared for five years and I'm not sure if I know you anymore." Alison held her voice strong but inside she was breaking.

They had gotten into whatever this was between them so fast after reacquainting and they still hadn't discussed any of the past apart from Emilys explanation of why she had disappeared. Alison didn't know where the tanned girl had been or what she had been doing other than watching them all from afar and hunting down A.

"This isn't about the photo is it?" Emily needed to clarify that these worries were stemming from a deeper place. A place that she had in fact created when she walked out of the blondes life without so much as a goodbye.

"You left me... I thought you were dead." Alison stated coldly, tears beginning to run down her face. All of her emotions had built up and now they couldn't be contained.

"Sucks doesn't it." Emily replied but she regretted her words immediately. "Wait... I didn't mean that" she tried to take the words back but it was too late.

"Get. Out." Alison screamed.

"Ali, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!" Emily pleaded.

Alison didn't listen, instead she walked to the front door and held it open. She expected Emily to put up a fight but instead the brunette defeatedly walked out of the house. Emily turned back around once and looked at Alison, she had a completely dejected look on her face and hated that they were arguing but decided that she should leave the blonde to cool down.

Emily walked through the streets as she headed to her destination. She didn't want to intrude on Hanna anymore than she already had and so she decided to go to the one person she should have seen a lot more of recently. Upon arriving at the all too familiar house she walked up the path and took a deep breath, unsure of what type of reception she would receive.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Emily asked quietly.

"Of course but do you really want to leave things unresolved?" Pam said, ever the insightful one.

"It will just make things worse, I'll wait until the morning and hopefully she will have calmed down" Emily replied as she stepped past her mother and into the living room.

"Calmed down or worked herself up even more?" Pam pushed, she knew her daughter needed to fight for this girl. It had always been Alison.

"Ughh... fine, you're right. I'll go back and talk to her but only after I've had some hot chocolate and one of your famous cookies?" Emily said as she smiled shyly.

Pam nodded and returned the smile before heading into the kitchen, leaving Emily to sink into the couch and try and prepare something to say to Alison to prove she was in this one hundred percent.

 **A/N**

 **Managed to smash this chapter out rather quickly for you all.**

 **Who else can imagine Emily getting into serious trouble just because she decided to help an innocent bird?**

 **Thought we all needed to see a bit of Pam Fields and I may incorporate her a bit more in future chapters.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Any ideas or suggestions for where to take this I'm happy to hear.**

 **Until next time :)**


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